Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip (2003) - full transcript
The saga of Horatio Nelson Jackson, the first man to cross the United States by automobile--in 1903!
Man: AFOOT AND LIGHT-HEARTED,
I TAKE TO THE OPEN ROAD,
HEALTHY, FREE,
THE WORLD BEFORE ME,
THE LONG BROWN PATH BEFORE ME,
LEADING WHEREVER I CHOOSE.
HENCEFORTH I ASK NOT
GOOD-FORTUNE--
I MYSELF AM GOOD FORTUNE;
HENCEFORTH I WHIMPER NO MORE,
POSTPONE NO MORE,
NEED NOTHING,
STRONG AND CONTENT,
I TRAVEL THE OPEN ROAD.
WALT WHITMAN.
Narrator: ON THE EVENING
OF MAY 19, 1903,
IN THE OAK-PANELED GAME ROOM
OF THE EXCLUSIVE UNIVERSITY CLUB
IN SAN FRANCISCO,
A GROUP OF WELL-TO-DO MEN
WERE SHARING DRINKS
AND CONVERSATION.
THE TALK CENTERED ON
PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S
POLITICAL FORTUNES
AND THE CHANCES THAT
THE BOSTON PILGRIMS
MIGHT TAKE THE PENNANT
IN THE BRAND-NEW
AMERICAN LEAGUE.
THEN THE DISCUSSION
TURNED TO ANOTHER TOPIC:
THE FUTURE OF A NEW MACHINE
THAT ONLY RECENTLY
HAD BEEN SHOWING UP
ON THE STREETS
OF MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES:
THE HORSELESS CARRIAGE.
A DEBATE BROKE OUT,
AND ONE MAN,
A STRANGER TO THE CLUB,
SOON FOUND HIMSELF
COMPLETELY OUTNUMBERED.
Man: THE MAJORITY OPINION
WAS THAT,
SAVE FOR SHORT DISTANCES,
THE AUTOMOBILE WAS
AN UNRELIABLE NOVELTY,
A PASSING MECHANICAL FANCY
WHICH THINKING MEN
COULD DO NO OTHER THAN DISCARD.
THE HORSE, THEY SAID,
CONTINUED TO DEMONSTRATE
HIS PROPER PLACE
AS THE DEPENDABLE SERVANT
OF MANKIND FOR TRAVEL.
HORATIO NELSON JACKSON.
Narrator: HORATIO NELSON JACKSON
WAS A 31-YEAR-OLD DOCTOR
FROM BURLINGTON, VERMONT.
3 YEARS EARLIER,
AFTER A MILD CASE
OF TUBERCULOSIS,
JACKSON HAD GIVEN UP
HIS MEDICAL PRACTICE.
BUT HE WAS STILL ENERGETIC,
OPTIMISTIC,
AND BRIMMING WITH NEW IDEAS.
THAT EVENING, JACKSON ARGUED
THAT THE AUTOMOBILE WAS MORE
THAN A RICH MAN'S TOY
SUITABLE ONLY FOR SHORT DRIVES
ON CITY BOULEVARDS,
AND HE DISAGREED WHEN
MOST OF THE OTHER MEN DECLARED
THAT ONE WOULD NEVER BE DRIVEN
ACROSS THE CONTINENT.
Woman: AND HE HEARD SOME
PEOPLE AT THE NEXT TABLE
TALKING ABOUT
THE HORSELESS CARRIAGE
AND HOW IT WAS
NOT GONNA LAST--
IT WASN'T LIKE THE HORSE--
AND HE COULDN'T STAND IT.
AND HE, I GUESS,
GOT UP FROM THE TABLE,
WENT OVER, AND STARTED
TALKING TO THEM ABOUT IT,
AND EVENTUALLY,
WITHIN A FEW
SHORT MINUTES,
HE TOOK OUT HIS WALLET,
PUT 50 BUCKS ON
THE TABLE AND SAID,
"I BET I CAN DRIVE
ACROSS THE COUNTRY."
THERE WAS NO TURNING
BACK AFTER THAT.
Narrator:
UNDER THE TERMS OF THE BET,
JACKSON WOULD WIN THE $50
IF HE MADE IT ALL THE WAY
TO NEW YORK CITY--
SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE
HAD EVER DONE BEFORE--
IN LESS THAN 3 MONTHS.
ONLY 4 DAYS LATER,
HORATIO NELSON JACKSON
WOULD SET OFF FROM SAN FRANCISCO
ON THE GREATEST ADVENTURE
OF HIS LIFE--
AN ADVENTURE THAT WOULD
MARK THE BEGINNING OF
A NEW ERA IN AMERICA
AND THE END OF ANOTHER.
IN 1803,
EXACTLY 100 YEARS
BEFORE HORATIO NELSON JACKSON
WOULD DRIVE
OUT OF SAN FRANCISCO,
MERIWETHER LEWIS
HAD LEFT WASHINGTON, D.C.,
LOOKING TO BECOME
THE FIRST AMERICAN
TO CROSS THE CONTINENT.
TRAVELING BY KEELBOAT
AND CANOE,
HORSEBACK AND ON FOOT,
IT TOOK LEWIS AND HIS PARTNER
WILLIAM CLARK NEARLY 2 1/2 YEARS
TO MAKE IT FROM THE ATLANTIC
TO THE PACIFIC.
AMERICANS WOULD SPEND THE REST
OF THE 19th CENTURY
TRYING TO FIND BETTER
AND FASTER WAYS
TO CONQUER THE NATION'S VAST
BUT ALLURING DISTANCES.
IN THE 1840s, HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF PIONEERS
TOOK WAGON TRAINS
TO OREGON AND CALIFORNIA,
SEARCHING FOR GOLD,
FOR LAND,
OR A CHANCE TO START OVER.
AT THE PACE OF A SLOW WALK,
THE TRIP TOOK 6 MONTHS.
LATER TRAVELERS RODE
THE OVERLAND STAGECOACH,
WHICH CUT THE TIME IN HALF.
BUT THE JOURNEY
WAS SO BUMPY AND DUSTY,
THE WRITER MARK TWAIN SAID,
THAT HE NEEDED
AN UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY
TO FIND THE PROPER WORDS
TO DESCRIBE HIS JOY
WHEN THE ORDEAL
WAS FINALLY OVER.
BY 1869,
THE FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL
RAILROAD WAS COMPLETED,
AND AMERICANS COULD NOW CROSS
THEIR NATION IN WEEKS
INSTEAD OF MONTHS OR YEARS,
PROVIDED THEY WERE CONTENT
TO CONFINE THEMSELVES
TO A RAILROAD SCHEDULE.
BUT LATE IN THE 19th CENTURY,
A NEW MEANS OF TRAVEL
APPEARED FIRST IN EUROPE
AND THEN
IN THE UNITED STATES
WHICH PROMISED NOT JUST SPEED,
BUT GREATER FREEDOM.
Man: SPRINGFIELD EVENING UNION:
A NEW MOTOR CARRIAGE
IS BEING MADE IN THIS CITY.
IF THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS
PROVE SUCCESSFUL, AS EXPECTED,
IT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE
THE MODE OF TRAVEL
AND DO AWAY WITH THE HORSE.
Narrator: IN 1893,
TWO BICYCLE MECHANICS
IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS--
CHARLES AND FRANK DURYEA--
STARTED MAKING
GASOLINE-POWERED MACHINES
THEY CALLED MOTORWAGONS
AND SOLD THEIR FIRST ONE
IN 1896.
OTHER ENTREPRENEURS
QUICKLY FOLLOWED SUIT.
IN LANSING, MICHIGAN,
RANSOM OLDS MADE
A MOTOR CARRIAGE
THAT WAS BETTER THAN
A HORSE, HE SAID,
"BECAUSE IT NEVER KICKS
OR BITES,
"NEVER TIRES ON LONG RUNS,
"NEVER SWEATS
IN HOT WEATHER,
AND EATS ONLY
WHILE ON THE ROAD."
IN DETROIT, A YOUNG MACHINIST
AND SELF-TAUGHT ENGINEER
NAMED HENRY FORD
PRODUCED A QUADRACYCLE--
A MACHINE THAT WEIGHED
ONLY 500 POUNDS
AND COULD REACH
THE UNHEARD-OF SPEED
OF 20 MILES AN HOUR.
AT FIRST,
ELECTRIC-POWERED VEHICLES
WERE MORE COMMON
THAN THE SO-CALLED PETROL CARS
THAT USED GASOLINE,
ALTHOUGH THEIR RANGE
WAS SEVERELY LIMITED
BECAUSE THEIR BATTERIES ALWAYS
SEEMED TO NEED RECHARGING.
AND IN MASSACHUSETTS,
THE STANLEY BROTHERS
BEGAN PRODUCING STEAMERS,
WHOSE ONLY DRAWBACK
WAS THAT THEIR BOILERS
REQUIRED 20 MINUTES
IN ORDER TO HEAT UP ENOUGH WATER
TO GET THINGS MOVING.
Man: THE EARLY DAYS
OF THE AUTOMOBILE WAS
SORT OF THIS FREE-FOR-ALL.
PEOPLE WERE MAKING THEM
IN THEIR GARAGES.
IT'S SORT OF LIKE--
YOU THINK OF THE START OF
THE COMPUTER AGE, YOU KNOW?
YOUNG MECHANICS--
MOSTLY BICYCLE MECHANICS--
IN THEIR GARAGES
TRYING TO FIGURE A WAY
TO MAKE ALL THESE THINGS WORK
MECHANICALLY.
Narrator:
ON SOME VEHICLES,
THE STEERING WHEEL
WAS ON THE LEFT;
ON OTHERS, THE RIGHT.
MANY HAD NO STEERING WHEEL
AT ALL,
USING A TILLER OR LEVERS
TO GUIDE THE HORSELESS CARRIAGE
DOWN THE STREET.
SOME HAD METAL POLES
MOUNTED UNDERNEATH
THAT COULD BE DROPPED
LIKE ANCHORS,
NAILING THE CAR TO THE ROAD
IF IT STARTED TO SLIDE SIDEWAYS
OR ROLL BACKWARDS DOWN A HILL.
DRIVERS OF THESE NEW MACHINES
WENT BY VARIOUS NAMES:
MOTORISTS, CHAUFFEURS,
AND AS THE EUROPEAN TERM
"AUTOMOBILE" SLOWLY CAUGHT ON,
AUTOMOBILISTS.
Duncan: SOMEBODY ONCE SAID
THAT THE AUTOMOBILE IS
A MOBILE STATUS SYMBOL,
AND A MOBILE STATUS SYMBOL
IS AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN GET TO
DEFINING THE AMERICAN DREAM.
IT REPRESENTED ADVENTURE.
IT REPRESENTED ROMANCE
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
THERE ARE ALL THESE EARLY SONGS
THAT GREW UP,
AND ALMOST ALL OF THEM HAVE
SOMETHING TO DO WITH ROMANCE.
"COME AWAY WITH ME, LUCILLE,
IN MY MERRY OLDSMOBILE."
IT'S ALL ABOUT GETTING THE GIRL
IF YOU GOT THE CAR.
ONE OF MY FAVORITES IS
HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER--
GET OUT AND GET UNDER
(TO FIX UP HIS AUTOMOBILE).
♪ HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ TO FIX HIS LITTLE MACHINE... ♪
EVERY TIME HE'S TRYING TO
MAKE ROMANCE TO HIS GIRL
AS HE'S DRIVING,
THE CAR WOULD BREAK DOWN,
AND HE'D HAVE TO GET DOWN
UNDERNEATH THE AUTOMOBILE.
IT'S AS IF,
TWO GENERATIONS LATER,
FINALLY GUYS FIGURED OUT
THAT IT WAS THE BREAKING DOWN
OF THE AUTOMOBILE
THAT PRESENTED THE--YOU KNOW,
THE CHANCE FOR ROMANCE.
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ AND FIX UP HIS AUTOMOBILE ♪
♪ JOHNNY O'CONNOR
BOUGHT AN AUTOMOBILE ♪
♪ HE TOOK HIS SWEETHEART
FOR A RIDE ONE SUNDAY ♪
♪ JOHNNY WAS TOGGED UP
IN HIS BEST SUNDAY CLOTHES ♪
♪ SHE NESTLED CLOSE
TO HIS SIDE ♪
♪ THINGS WENT JUST DANDY
TILL HE GOT DOWN THE ROAD ♪
♪ THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED
TO THE OLD MACHINERY ♪
♪ THAT ENGINE GOT HIS GOAT ♪
♪ OFF WENT
HIS HAT AND COAT ♪
♪ EVERYTHING NEEDED REPAIRS ♪
♪ HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ TO FIX HIS LITTLE MACHINE ♪
♪ HE WAS JUST DYING TO CUDDLE
HIS QUEEN ♪
♪ BUT EVERY MINUTE ♪
♪ WHEN HE'D BEGIN IT ♪
♪ HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ THEN HE'D GET BACK
AT THE WHEEL ♪
♪ A DOZEN TIMES
THEY'D START TO HUG AND KISS ♪
♪ AND THEN THE DARNED OLD
ENGINE, IT WOULD MISS ♪
♪ AND THEN HE'D HAVE TO
GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ AND FIX UP HIS AUTOMOBILE ♪
Narrator: AT A TIME WHEN
THE AVERAGE AMERICAN EARNED
LESS THAN $500 A YEAR,
EARLY AUTOMOBILES WERE BEYOND
MOST PEOPLE'S REACH:
RANGING IN PRICE FROM $650
TO MORE THAN $6,000
AND LIMITED TO A SMALL NUMBER
OF WEALTHY BUYERS--
DOCTORS, BUSINESSMEN,
AND MILLIONAIRES.
AND FOR MANY AMERICANS,
AUTOMOBILES WERE NOT ONLY
TOO EXPENSIVE,
THEY WERE DOWNRIGHT
DANGEROUS.
IN CITIES
ALL AROUND THE NATION,
RESIDENTS BEGAN COMPLAINING
ABOUT THE NOISE
OF THE NEW MACHINES,
THE CLOUDS OF DUST THEY RAISED
WHIRLING THROUGH TOWN,
AS WELL AS THE THREAT
THEY SEEMED TO POSE
TO PEDESTRIANS, BICYCLISTS,
AND HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES.
Duncan:
VERMONT PASSED A LAW--
BASED ON AN ENGLISH LAW
CALLED THE RED FLAG LAW--
THAT REQUIRED AN ADULT
TO WALK IN FRONT OF THE CAR
WAVING A RED FLAG.
KIND OF DEFEATS THE PURPOSE
OF GOING OUT IN THE CAR
IF SOMEBODY'S GOT TO WALK
IN FRONT OF IT.
Narrator:
TENNESSEE REQUIRED MOTORISTS
TO POST A WEEK'S NOTICE
BEFORE STARTING OUT ON ANY TRIP.
IN GLENCOE, ILLINOIS,
SOMEONE STRETCHED A STEEL CABLE
ACROSS THE ROAD
TO STOP WHAT THEY CALLED
"THE DEVIL WAGONS."
SOME CITIES BANNED
AUTOMOBILES ALTOGETHER.
BY THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY,
THERE WERE ONLY 8,000
AUTOMOBILES IN THE UNITED STATES
COMPARED TO 14 MILLION HORSES.
BLACKSMITHS
OUTNUMBERED DOCTORS,
AND MOST AMERICANS
RARELY TRAVELED
FARTHER THAN 12 MILES
FROM THEIR HOME--
THE DISTANCE A HORSE AND WAGON
MIGHT TAKE THEM IN A DAY.
Duncan: THE ROADS WERE TERRIBLE;
NO ROAD SIGNS.
BECAUSE YOU'RE SORT OF CONFINED
TO THESE SMALL AREAS,
YOU TRAVELED IN THE AREA
THAT YOU ALREADY KNEW,
SO THERE WAS NO NEED
FOR HIGHWAY NUMBERS.
THERE WAS NO NEED TO HAVE
A LOT OF SIGNAGE,
BECAUSE PEOPLE TRAVELED
THE ROADS THAT THEY TRAVELED--
SORT OF LIKE BOSTON TODAY.
IF YOU'RE FROM OUT OF TOWN,
YOU KNOW, GOOD LUCK.
THERE'D BE THESE THICK BOOKS
THAT WOULD SAY, FOR INSTANCE,
"START AT MAIN STREET
WHERE THE CIVIL WAR STATUE IS.
"GO DOWN WEST STREET.
"FOLLOW THE TROLLEY TRACKS
AS FAR AS THEY GO.
"ONCE YOU'VE GONE 0.3 MILES PAST
THE END OF THE TROLLEY TRACKS,
"TAKE A RIGHT UNDER
THE GRANITE RAILROAD BRIDGE.
"GO TO THE STONE
WATERING TROUGH.
TAKE A RIGHT THERE."
GOING, SAY, 20 MILES
MIGHT BE TWO PAGES OF THIS BOOK.
SOME OF THEM EVEN TOOK
PHOTOGRAPHS
TO SHOW THESE JUNCTURES,
SO YOU COULD FLIP THROUGH
THE PAGES
TO SEE WHERE YOU WERE.
BUT THOSE WERE
JUST FOR THE EAST.
ONCE YOU GOT PAST
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,
THEN YOU WERE ON YOUR OWN.
NOBODY KNEW WHAT THE ROADS
WERE LIKE OUT THERE.
Narrator: ONLY A SMALL NUMBER
OF AMERICANS BELIEVED
THAT THE AUTOMOBILE
REPRESENTED THE FUTURE,
DESTINED SOMEDAY TO MAKE
BOTH THE HORSE
AND THE RAILROAD OBSOLETE.
AND TO PROVE IT,
A FEW AUTOMOBILE FANATICS
DECIDED TO TRY TO DRIVE
ALL THE WAY
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IN THE SUMMER OF 1899,
WITH THE BACKING
OF TWO NEWSPAPERS
AND A CAR MANUFACTURER,
LOUISE AND JOHN DAVIS MOTORED
THEIR 7-HORSEPOWER DURYEA
OUT OF NEW YORK CITY,
HEADED FOR SAN FRANCISCO--
THE FIRST KNOWN ATTEMPT TO DRIVE
A CAR FROM COAST TO COAST.
BUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY,
EVERYTHING WENT WRONG.
THE DAVISES' PROGRESS
WAS SO SLOW
THAT A ONE-ARMED BICYCLIST
WHO HAD LEFT NEW YORK
10 DAYS AFTER THEIR DEPARTURE
PASSED THEM BEFORE
THEY REACHED SYRACUSE.
TWO YEARS AFTER
THE DAVISES' FAILURE,
ALEXANDER WINTON,
ONE OF THE NATION'S LEADING
CAR MANUFACTURERS,
DECIDED TO DRIVE
FROM WEST TO EAST
IN ORDER TO TACKLE
THE HARDEST PART OF
THE JOURNEY FIRST.
WINTON LEFT SAN FRANCISCO
ON MAY 20, 1901,
ACCOMPANIED BY HIS FULL-TIME
PUBLICIST CHARLES B. SHANKS.
THEY MADE GOOD TIME
SURMOUNTING THE SIERRAS
AND WERE SOON CROSSING
THE DESERTS OF NEVADA.
BUT ON THE TENTH DAY
OF THE TRIP,
A MERE 530 MILES FROM
THEIR STARTING POINT
IN SAN FRANCISCO,
THE CAR BECAME HOPELESSLY STUCK
IN A SAND DRIFT,
AND WINTON CALLED AN ABRUPT END
TO HIS JOURNEY.
THE NEXT PERSON TO TRY WAS
NEARLY WHOLLY UNQUALIFIED
TO MAKE THE TRIP:
LACKED ANY CORPORATE BACKING
OR PUBLICITY,
KNEW NEXT TO NOTHING ABOUT
AUTOMOBILE MECHANICS,
AND HAD DONE
LITTLE OR NO PLANNING.
IT WAS HORATIO NELSON JACKSON.
Duncan:
HORATIO NELSON JACKSON, TO ME,
SEEMS LIKE SORT OF
A TEDDY ROOSEVELT-TYPE FIGURE:
OPTIMISTIC, FULL OF ENTHUSIASMS
AND PASSIONS,
SORT OF
AN INDOMITABLE SPIRIT,
ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE NEW,
ALWAYS WANTING TO TRY
SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
AS A GUY WHO HAD HAD
FAST-RUNNING HORSES
IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT,
ONCE THE AUTOMOBILE
SHOWED UP,
YOU COULD SORT OF SEE
HIS EYES SORT OF SPIN,
SAYING, "I GOTTA HAVE
ONE OF THESE."
HE JUST BECAME A FANATIC
FOR AUTOMOBILES.
Narrator: BORN IN 1872,
JACKSON WAS A MINISTER'S SON
KNOWN MORE
FOR HIS GUNG-HO EAGERNESS
THAN FOR HIS INTROSPECTION.
HE HAD RECENTLY MARRIED
BERTHA WELLS,
THE DAUGHTER OF ONE OF
THE RICHEST MEN IN VERMONT,
FOUNDER OF
PAINE'S CELERY COMPOUND--
A POPULAR CURE-ALL
THAT WAS 20% GRAIN ALCOHOL.
AFTER GIVING UP
HIS MEDICAL PRACTICE,
JACKSON HAD TRAVELED
TO MEXICO AND ALASKA
TO INVEST IN GOLD
AND SILVER MINES.
HE WAS ON HIS WAY HOME
WHEN HE STOPPED IN SAN FRANCISCO
AND MADE HIS IMPULSIVE WAGER.
Duncan: THIS IS A STORY
ABOUT A WHIM,
ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL
WHO JUST DECIDES,
"I WANT TO DO IT."
4 DAYS AFTER MAKING
A $50 BET,
HE LEFT TO TRY TO DO
SOMETHING THAT NOBODY
HAD EVER DONE BEFORE.
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION--
THAT WAS A RESULT OF YEARS
AND YEARS OF PLANNING.
IT WAS ADVANCING SCIENCE,
IT WAS DIPLOMACY,
IT WAS EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES
OF THE UNITED STATES:
A VERY SERIOUS UNDERTAKING.
THIS IS NOT A VERY SERIOUS
UNDERTAKING.
THIS IS ALL ABOUT
A GUY JUST DECIDING,
"I WANT TO GET IN A CAR
AND GET ON THE ROAD."
Narrator: BUT FIRST
HE HAD TO FIND A CAR.
AFTER A QUICK SEARCH,
JACKSON SETTLED ON A CHERRY-RED
1903 TOURING CAR
MADE BY
ALEXANDER WINTON'S COMPANY.
EVEN THOUGH IT WAS
MORE THAN A MONTH OLD
WITH NEARLY 1,000 MILES ON IT,
HE PAID $3,000 FOR THE CAR--
$500 MORE THAN THE LIST PRICE--
BECAUSE IT WAS THE ONLY ONE OF
ITS KIND HE COULD FIND FOR SALE.
THE WINTON HAD A TWO-CYLINDER,
20-HORSEPOWER ENGINE
UNDERNEATH THE DRIVER'S SEAT
WITH A CHAIN DRIVE;
CAPABLE OF SPEEDS
UP TO 30 MILES PER HOUR;
NO TOP AND NO WINDSHIELD;
STEERING WHEEL ON THE RIGHT.
JACKSON REMOVED THE BACKSEAT
TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE PILES
OF EQUIPMENT
HE'D QUICKLY PURCHASED
FOR THE JOURNEY--
SLEEPING BAGS
AND COOKING GEAR;
A SET OF TOOLS INCLUDING
A SPADE AND A FIREMAN'S AX;
A BLOCK AND TACKLE
WITH 150 FEET OF HEMP ROPE;
A SHOTGUN, RIFLE, PISTOLS,
AND AMMUNITION;
AND A SMALL KODAK CAMERA
TO RECORD HIS TRIP.
THERE WERE NO GAS STATIONS
AT THE TIME,
BUT STORES IN MOST TOWNS
CARRIED FUEL
FOR FARM MACHINERY, STOVES,
AND WATER PUMPS.
HE CHRISTENED HIS CAR
THE VERMONT
IN HONOR OF THE STATE WHERE
HE LIVED WITH HIS WIFE BERTHA.
FOR REASONS
FOREVER LOST TO HISTORY,
HE AFFECTIONATELY
CALLED HER "SWIPES."
SHE SUPPORTED HIS DECISION
TO MAKE THE TRIP
BUT CHOSE TO RETURN HOME
BY PASSENGER TRAIN
INSTEAD OF COMING ALONG.
IN THE FIRST PLACE,
I DON'T THINK THERE WAS
ANY ROOM FOR HER.
WHO WAS THE MOST
IMPORTANT PERSON
TO TAKE WITH YOU?
NOT YOUR WIFE.
THE IMPORTANT THING HERE
IS THAT SHE SAID TO HIM,
"NELSON, IT'S OK
FOR YOU TO GO."
OH, I THINK
SHE GAVE HIM
HIS INDEPENDENCE.
Narrator:
IN BERTHA'S PLACE,
JACKSON HIRED THE MAN
WHO HAD RECOMMENDED THE WINTON
AS THE BEST CAR FOR THE TRIP:
A 22-YEAR-OLD FORMER
PROFESSIONAL BICYCLE RACER
NAMED SEWALL K. CROCKER,
WHO WAS WORKING IN CALIFORNIA
AS A MECHANIC
IN A GASOLINE ENGINE FACTORY.
ON THE AFTERNOON
OF MAY 23, 1903,
THEY WERE READY TO GO.
THE TWO MEN STARTED DOWN
SAN FRANCISCO'S MARKET STREET
TO CROSS THE BAY
ON THE OAKLAND FERRY
FOR THEIR LONG JOURNEY EAST.
IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF
AMERICA'S FIRST ROAD TRIP--
A TRIP THAT WOULD COLLECT
A THOUSAND IMPRESSIONS
OF A COUNTRY
AND A PEOPLE ON THE CUSP
OF EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE.
Man as Jackson:
MY DARLING SWIPES,
THE HARDEST WORK I EVER DID
WAS TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO YOU.
I CAME PRETTY NEARLY
HAVING COLD FEET.
THERE ISN'T ONE WOMAN
IN 1,000
THAT WOULD LET A FELLOW DO
WHAT I HAVE DONE,
AND I CAN TELL YOU, OLD GIRL,
I APPRECIATE IT.
PLEASE GIVE MY BEST LOVE
TO YOUR MOTHER,
AND TELL MY FATHER
AND MOTHER THAT I LOVE
THEM AS MUCH AS EVER.
I SHALL WRITE YOU WHEN I CAN
AND SHALL DEPEND ON YOU
TO KEEP THEM POSTED.
YOURS TILL NEW YORK,
NELSON.
P.S. TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF,
AND DON'T WORRY.
Man: THERE IS NO THING
THAT WE CAN DO
THAT IS MORE AMERICAN
THAN GETTING IN A CAR
AND STRIKING OUT
ACROSS COUNTRY.
I THINK, AS A NATION,
WE CAN THINK OF FEW THINGS
THAT DRAW US MORE STRONGLY
THAN A PIECE OF ROADWAY
HEADING TO WE KNOW NOT WHERE.
THIS IS THE WAY
THAT WE GROW UP.
THIS IS THE WAY THAT
WE ENTER OUR HISTORY:
GET IN A CAR
AND FIND THE COUNTRY.
Narrator: 15 MILES FROM OAKLAND,
THE VERMONT BLEW A TIRE.
THEY REPLACED IT WITH
THE ONLY SPARE THEY HAD
AND THEN MOTORED ON
ANOTHER 60 MILES
BEFORE STOPPING IN THE TOWN
OF TRACY FOR THE NIGHT.
THE NEXT DAY,
ON THEIR WAY TO SACRAMENTO,
THEY STOPPED AT
A GENERAL STORE
TO BUY GASOLINE
FROM AN ANCIENT CLERK
WHO SEEMED BEMUSED
TO SEE TOURISTS IN
A HORSELESS CARRIAGE.
Man as Jackson: THE OLD MAN SAID
WHEN HE GOT RICH,
HE WAS GOING TO BUY
ONE OF THESE G.D. MACHINES
SO THAT HE COULD SPEND
HIS MONEY FAST.
HE WOULD BREAK DOWN
HIS NEIGHBOR'S FENCES
WITH IT, HE SAID.
THEN HE WOULDN'T HAVE
ANY MONEY LEFT
FOR HIS CHILDREN
TO FIGHT OVER.
Narrator:
AFTER COVERING 118 MILES,
THEY STOPPED IN SACRAMENTO
TO MAKE MINOR REPAIRS
TO THE VERMONT:
FIXING THE SPARK IGNITER,
BUYING SOME
SECONDHAND TIRE TUBES
SINCE NO NEW ONES
WERE AVAILABLE,
AND ATTACHING
AN ACETYLENE HEADLAMP
TO THE FRONT OF THE CAR
FOR NIGHT DRIVING.
HERE THEY ALSO LOOKED OVER
SOME RUDIMENTARY MAPS
TO PLAN THE ROUTE AHEAD.
A FORBIDDING PROSPECT
LAY BEFORE THEM.
AT THE TIME,
OF THE 2.3 MILLION MILES OF ROAD
IN THE UNITED STATES,
FEWER THAN 150 MILES
WERE PAVED,
AND ALL OF THOSE
WERE WITHIN CITY LIMITS.
THE REST WERE MOSTLY
DIRT PATHS
SUITABLE AT BEST FOR HORSES,
COWS, AND SLOW-MOVING WAGONS.
TO CROSS THE CONTINENT,
JACKSON DECIDED
IT WOULD BE BEST TO FOLLOW
THE ROUTES OF RAILROADS
AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE--
TO USE THEIR RIGHTS OF WAY
AS A ROAD IF NECESSARY,
EVEN THEIR TRESTLES
IN PLACES WHERE NO OTHER BRIDGE
COULD BE FOUND.
AND TO AVOID
THE SANDY WASTES OF NEVADA,
WHICH HAD DEFEATED
ALEXANDER WINTON
TWO YEARS EARLIER,
HE DETERMINED TO DETOUR
NORTH THROUGH OREGON,
EVEN THOUGH IT WOULD ADD MORE
THAN 1,000 MILES TO HIS JOURNEY
AND FOR A TIME,
TAKE HIM THROUGH PLACES WHERE
EVEN RAILROADS DID NOT EXIST.
Man as Jackson:
MY DARLING SWIPES,
WE LEAVE IN THE MORNING
FOR OROVILLE,
THE LAST RAILWAY POINT
WE WILL HAVE
UNTIL WE STRIKE
ONTARIO, OREGON.
WHEN WE GET THERE,
THE WORST WILL BE OVER.
I CAN RUN THE CAR
AS WELL AS CROCKER
AND HAVE RATHER SURPRISED HIM.
WE TAKE TWO HOURS ON
AND TWO OFF AT THE WHEEL.
HE'S A MIGHTY GOOD MAN.
I AM FINE,
AND THE ONLY TROUBLE IS,
I MISS YOU SO.
NELSON.
Narrator: ON MAY 25,
THEY STARTED FOR OROVILLE,
TRAVELING THROUGH MILES
AND MILES OF ORCHARDS
ON DUSTY ROADS
JACKSON DESCRIBED AS
"A COMPOUND OF RUTS, BUMPS,
AND THANK YOU, MA'AMS."
"WE NEVER NOTICED,"
HE ADDED,
"AS OUR COOKING UTENSILS
JOLTED OFF ONE BY ONE.
"AND WHEN WE DISCOVERED
OUR LOSS,
WE COULD NOT AFFORD
TO TURN BACK TO SEEK THEM."
THEN THEY DISCOVERED
SOMETHING ELSE.
THEY WERE LOST.
Man as Jackson:
WE MET A RED-HAIRED YOUNG WOMAN
RIDING ALONG ON A WHITE HORSE.
"WHICH WAY TO MARYSVILLE?"
I ASKED HER.
"RIGHT DOWN THAT ROAD,"
SHE SAID, AND POINTED.
WE TOOK THAT ROAD FOR MILES,
AND THEN IT CAME TO A DEAD END
AT AN ISOLATED FARMHOUSE.
THE FAMILY ALL TURNED OUT
TO STARE AT US
AND TOLD US
WE'D HAVE TO GO BACK.
WE WENT BACK AND
MET THE RED-HAIRED
YOUNG WOMAN AGAIN.
"WHY DID YOU SEND US
WAY DOWN THERE?" I ASKED HER.
"I WANTED PA
AND MA AND MY HUSBAND
TO SEE YOU," SHE SAID.
"THEY'VE NEVER SEEN
AN AUTOMOBILE."
Narrator:
LONG AFTER NIGHTFALL,
JACKSON AND CROCKER
FINALLY PULLED INTO OROVILLE
BY THE LIGHT
OF THEIR NEW SEARCHLAMP.
"EVERYTHING IS ALL OK,"
A TIRED JACKSON WROTE HIS WIFE.
"I SHALL TAKE MY CAR THROUGH
TO NEW YORK," HE PROMISED,
UNDERLINING THE WORDS
FOR EMPHASIS
BEFORE SIGNING THE LETTER,
"YOURS TILL DEATH."
EARLY ON THE MORNING OF MAY 27,
THEIR FIFTH DAY OUT,
THE ASCENT INTO
THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS BEGAN.
THEY CLIMBED STEEP,
ROCKY TRAILS
NO AUTOMOBILE HAD
EVER TRAVELED--
MOSTLY LOW-GEAR WORK,
JACKSON WROTE,
THAT REQUIRED FREQUENT STOPS
FOR CROCKER TO FIX THE CLUTCH.
Man as Jackson: OFTEN,
THE TRAIL NARROWED TO 10 FEET,
ONE-WAY THOROUGHFARES
ESTABLISHED BY NATURE.
SOMETIMES IT WAS NECESSARY
TO REMOVE BOULDER BLOCKADES
BY HAND.
SLIPPING ON SHALE
AND LOOSE ROCKS,
WEAVING AROUND
MOUNTAIN LEDGES,
WE STAKED OUR CAREERS AGAINST
NONE-TOO-RELIABLE BRAKES
ON STEEP DESCENTS,
AROUND HAIRPIN TURNS WHERE,
JOLTING AND SKIDDING,
WE SUDDENLY LOOKED DOWN
SHEER PRECIPICES.
Narrator: SHARP STONES
PIERCED THE CAR'S TIRES,
FORCING THEM TO PATCH
THE INNER TUBES
AND THEN REINFLATE THEM
BY HAND PUMP.
THE WINDING TRAIL
WAS CRISSCROSSED
BY MOUNTAIN STREAMS,
USUALLY WITH NO BRIDGES
OVER THEM.
JACKSON AND CROCKER
HAD NO CHOICE
BUT TO PUT THE VERMONT
INTO HIGH GEAR
AND TRY TO GET ACROSS
AT TOP SPEED.
"WE WELCOMED SOME
OF THE CREEKS," JACKSON SAID,
"TO LET THE CAR'S
HOT TIRES COOL."
BUT ONE CREEK WAS TOO DEEP,
AND THE VERMONT GOT STUCK.
THE MEN TOOK OFF
THEIR CLOTHES,
WADED TO THE OTHER SHORE
WITH THE BLOCK AND TACKLE,
ATTACHED IT TO A TREE,
PULLED THE CAR OUT
WITH THE ROPE,
AND THEN CONTINUED
ON THE BUMPY ROAD.
Man as Jackson:
WE WERE LUCKY NOT TO HAVE LOST
OUR BLOCK AND TACKLE,
FOR BIT BY BIT,
OUR EQUIPMENT WAS DISAPPEARING,
INCLUDING MY OWN SPECTACLES
AND FOUNTAIN PEN.
Narrator: THE NEXT DAY,
THEY TOOK A WRONG ROAD
AND LOST 20 MILES.
THE CLUTCH NEEDED FIXING AGAIN,
AND THEN THE LINE FEEDING OIL
TO THE CYLINDERS GOT CLOGGED.
WHEN CROCKER CRAWLED UNDERNEATH
THE CAR TO REOPEN IT,
TWO GALLONS OF OIL
SPILLED ONTO HIM
BEFORE HE COULD STOP IT.
"HE IS NOW WEARING MY CLOTHES,"
JACKSON WROTE TO BERTHA,
"AND THE OTHERS
ARE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD."
DURING IT ALL,
JACKSON SOMEHOW LOST
YET ANOTHER PAIR OF SPECTACLES
WHILE THE VERMONT BOUNCED ALONG.
BUT HE COULDN'T HELP
ADMIRING THE SCENERY.
Man as Jackson:
PASSED THROUGH WINTER'S CANYON.
VERY NARROW ROAD.
STREAM WITH BEAUTIFUL FALLS
1,000 FEET BELOW
AND HIGH GRANITE WALLS
ON EACH SIDE.
A GRAND SIGHT.
I NEVER WENT THROUGH
SUCH COUNTRY IN MY LIFE.
Man: I THINK
AN EARLY AUTOMOBILE TRIP
WOULD BE ABOUT THE MOST FUN
A PERSON COULD HAVE.
IT WAS A VISCERAL EXPERIENCE--
THE LANDSCAPE COMING
AT YOU AS IT DID,
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAD
NO WINDSHIELD OR TOP
TO BLOCK YOUR VIEW.
IT'S ALL AROUND YOU.
IT'S NO WONDER
IT APPEALED SO MUCH TO JACKSON,
'CAUSE HE, LIKE EVERYONE ELSE,
HAD RIDDEN TRAINS
MOST OF HIS LIFE--
ENCLOSED, CRAMPED,
STUFFY RAILROAD CARS.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN.
Narrator: MOUNT SHASTA,
WHICH FOR DAYS HAD BEEN IN VIEW
OFF AND ON "LIKE A GUIDEPOST,"
JACKSON WROTE,
NOW FADED COMPLETELY
FROM SIGHT BEHIND THEM
AS THEY CAME DOWN
OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS
AND HEADED FOR THE TOWN
OF ALTURAS
IN THE NORTHEASTERN
CORNER OF CALIFORNIA.
Man as Jackson:
MY DARLING GIRL,
WE HAVE CROSSED
THE MOUNTAINS
AND DON'T EXPECT TO
COME TO ANY MORE
UNTIL WE GET INTO IDAHO.
WE HAVE PROVEN THAT MY MACHINE
CAN DO OR GO ANYWHERE.
I FEEL CONFIDENT
WE CAN MAKE IT.
HOW I WISH YOU WERE WITH ME
AND THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE
FOR YOU TO TAKE THE TRIP.
WITH A BARRELFUL OF LOVE,
I AM, AS ALWAYS, YOURS, NELSON.
Man: THE ALTURAS PLAIN DEALER:
QUITE A FLURRY OF EXCITEMENT
WAS ERECTED SATURDAY EVENING
BY THE ARRIVAL
OF AN AUTOMOBILE.
VERY FEW OF OUR CITIZENS
HAD EVER SEEN THIS--
ONE OF THE WONDERS
OF THE CENTURY,
AND LARGE CROWDS GAZED
WITH CURIOUS INTEREST
AT THE HORSELESS WAGON.
THE INDIANS ESPECIALLY
NEVER TIRED OF GAZING
AT THE MACHINE.
INDEED, HAD A FLYING MACHINE
LIT DOWN IN THEIR MIDST,
IT WOULD NOT HAVE CREATED
GREATER ASTONISHMENT.
Narrator: IN ALTURAS,
JACKSON DECIDED
TO WAIT FOR A DAY.
HE HAD TELEGRAPHED
BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO
FOR A NEW SET OF
BADLY NEEDED TIRES,
SOME NEW BATTERIES,
AND A NEW CYCLOMETER
TO HELP HIM MEASURE DISTANCES,
AND HE HAD BEEN PROMISED
BY WELLS FARGO
THAT THE STAGECOACH
WITH HIS SHIPMENT WOULD
SOON CATCH UP WITH HIM.
Duncan: I LOVE THE IRONY
OF THE IMAGE OF JACKSON
WHEN HE WAS
IN ALTURAS, CALIFORNIA.
HE NEEDS SOME SPARE TIRES,
AND HE NEEDS SOME OTHER PARTS,
AND THE ONLY WAY
HE'S GONNA GET THEM
IS FOR THEM TO ARRIVE
BY WHAT?
BY STAGECOACH.
HE CAN'T GO ANYWHERE
UNTIL THE OLD STAGE ARRIVES.
IT'S NOT QUITE A PASSING
OF THE ERA,
BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL
RELYING ON THE OLD ERA
TO GET THE NEW ERA
IN MOTION.
Narrator: ONE DAY PASSED,
THEN A SECOND AND A THIRD.
STILL NO TIRES.
Man as Jackson: MONDAY, JUNE 1:
WELL, OLD GIRL,
I AM RATHER PROVOKED
OVER OUR DELAY.
I'VE LOST 5 1/2 DAYS.
THIS IS A BAD START.
BUT JUST AS SOON AS
I CAN GET DECENT TIRES,
WE WILL MAKE A RECORD RUN.
CROCKER IS
MORE INTERESTED THAN EVER
AND IS KEEPING THE MACHINE UP
IN GOOD SHAPE.
I FEEL MORE CONFIDENT
THAT I CAN MAKE NEW YORK.
WE ARE CAUSING
A GREAT SENSATION.
IT IS THE FIRST MACHINE
THAT HAS EVER GONE
OVER THESE MOUNTAINS.
YESTERDAY THE FARMERS DROVE IN
FOR MILES TO SEE MY MACHINE,
AND THERE HAS BEEN
A HUNDRED PEOPLE
AROUND THE LIVERY STABLE
SINCE OUR ARRIVAL.
I'VE BEEN OFFERED ALL PRICES
TO TAKE THEM FOR A RIDE.
I HAVE PROMISED
SOME OF THE COWPUNCHERS A RIDE
IF THEY WILL GET ME UP
A GOOD ROUNDUP.
THEY'RE PLANNING FOR IT
THIS AFTERNOON,
AND I EXPECT TO SEE A REGULAR
WILD WEST SHOW.
Narrator:
BY TUESDAY, JUNE 2,
THE SHIPMENT
STILL HAD NOT ARRIVED.
JACKSON LEFT ALTURAS ANYWAY--
"IN NO VERY GOOD HUMOR,"
ACCORDING TO THE LOCAL PAPER.
BUT AFTER ONLY A FEW MILES,
A FRONT SPRING BROKE,
AND THE VERMONT LIMPED TOWARD
LAKEVIEW, OREGON,
AT UNDER 10 MILES PER HOUR.
Woman: THE LAKEVIEW HERALD:
A TELEGRAM WAS RECEIVED HERE
TUESDAY MORNING
THAT THE WONDER
HAD LEFT ALTURAS
AND WOULD REACH THIS PLACE
IN ABOUT TWO HOURS.
THIS WAS ENOUGH TO
PUT EVERY MAN, WOMAN,
AND CHILD IN LAKEVIEW
ON THE KEEN EDGE
OF EXPECTANCY.
Man: THE WAY THE STREETS
OF LAKEVIEW
WERE LINED WITH PEOPLE
TUESDAY AFTERNOON,
ONE WOULD THINK A CIRCUS
WAS COMING TO TOWN,
OR A 4th OF JULY PROCESSION
WAS ABOUT TO PASS.
WHILE IT WAS NEITHER,
THE PEOPLE'S CURIOSITY
HAD BEEN AROUSED
FROM A REPORT THAT AN AUTOMOBILE
WAS COMING THIS WAY,
AND THAT IF THEY WISHED
TO SEE IT PASS
IT WAS NECESSARY TO HAVE
A SEAT IN THE FRONT ROW.
OTHERWISE IT MIGHT GO THROUGH
AT THE RATE OF 90 MILES AN HOUR
AND WOULD BE OUT OF SIGHT
BEFORE THEY COULD RUN A BLOCK.
IT HOVE IN SIGHT AT JUST 4:00,
AND THE CROWD SURGED FORWARD
TO GET A FIRST LOOK AT A REAL,
LIVE AUTO--
A MACHINE THAT 9/10 OF
THE PEOPLE OF LAKE COUNTY
HAD NEVER SEEN.
THE MACHINE DROVE UP IN FRONT OF
THE HOTEL LAKEVIEW AND STOPPED.
THE CHAUFFEUR INQUIRED
FOR A BLACKSMITH SHOP,
HAVING HAD A MISHAP
COMING OVER THE ROUGH ROADS.
LAKEVIEW COUNTY EXAMINER.
Narrator:
A LOCAL BLACKSMITH
WAS PUT TO WORK
REPAIRING THE FRONT SPRING--
"NEVER SENSING," JACKSON SAID,
"THAT OUR STRANGE VEHICLE
WAS A SYMBOL OF DOOM
TO HIS PROFESSION."
THEY LEFT THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP
THE NEXT DAY
AND SET OFF ONCE AGAIN.
THE FRONT SPRING WAS
WORKING WELL NOW,
BUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY,
AN INNER TUBE BURST.
THEY HAD NO CHOICE NOW
BUT TO RETURN TO LAKEVIEW
AND WAIT FOR THE STAGE
TO REACH THEM
WITH THE SUPPLIES THEY HAD
ORDERED FROM SAN FRANCISCO.
Hokanson: IN 1903,
TRAVELING CROSS-COUNTRY
BY AUTOMOBILE...
I DON'T THINK TODAY WE CAN
CONCEIVE OF JUST HOW MUCH
DIFFICULTY THAT PRESENTED.
THESE WERE VERY UNRELIABLE
AUTOMOBILES AT THIS TIME.
EVEN IF YOU WENT 20 MILES,
YOU COULD FIGURE ON
SOMETHING BREAKING.
I THINK A $50 BET AT THAT TIME
SAYING THAT NO ONE WOULD MAKE IT
ACROSS THE STATES BY AUTOMOBILE
IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE
WAS PROBABLY A PRETTY SAFE BET.
Man as Jackson: THURSDAY:
LOAFED ALL DAY AND KEPT
THE TELEGRAPH WIRE BUSY
TO KEEP IN TOUCH
WITH THE TIRES.
WE SPENT MOST OF THE DAY
IN MR. LAKE'S BICYCLE SHOP,
AND CROCKER MADE $3.00
REPAIRING A COLUMBIAN BICYCLE.
SOME OF THE PEOPLE HERE
HAVE NEVER SEEN A RAILROAD
OR BEEN AWAY FROM THE PLACE
FOR MORE THAN 50 MILES.
A LITTLE BOY ASKED HIS TEACHER
IF HE COULD HAVE A HOLIDAY
TO SEE THE AUTO.
Narrator:
LATE ON THE NIGHT OF JUNE 5,
THE TIRES, BATTERIES,
AND CYCLOMETER FINALLY ARRIVED.
AND BY EARLY THE NEXT MORNING,
JACKSON AND CROCKER
HAD EVERYTHING READY.
AHEAD OF THEM LAY
NEARLY 300 MILES OF DESERT--
AN AREA THAT HAD
THE ADDED DISTINCTION
OF BEING FARTHER FROM
A RAILROAD
THAN ANY OTHER PLACE
IN THE UNITED STATES.
JACKSON HOPED TO CROSS IT
IN TWO DAYS
AND REACH ONTARIO, OREGON,
WHERE HE HAD TELEGRAPHED AHEAD
FOR MORE TIRES AND SUPPLIES
TO BE WAITING FOR HIM
AT THE TRAIN STATION.
Hokanson:
SOUTHEASTERN OREGON IN 1903
IS NOT A PLACE YOU WANT TO HAVE
A MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN.
IT STILL ISN'T.
FEWER THAN TWO PEOPLE
PER SQUARE MILE
LIVE IN
SOUTHEASTERN OREGON TODAY.
THAT USED TO BE
THE CENSUS BUREAU'S
DEFINITION OF THE FRONTIER.
IN 1990, CENSUS TAKERS
HAD A MECHANICAL PROBLEM
IN SOUTHEAST OREGON,
AND THEY WERE MISSING
FOR 4 DAYS...IN 1990.
Narrator: AT 6 A.M.,
THEY SET OFF FROM LAKEVIEW
FOR THEIR DASH ACROSS THE DESERT
BUT IMMEDIATELY GOT CONFUSED
AND WENT 19 MILES
DOWN THE WRONG ROAD
BEFORE REALIZING IT.
BY 8:00, THICK DUST
WAS ALREADY CLOGGING
ONE OF THE VERMONT'S
TWO CARBURETORS,
AND THEY HAD TO STOP
TO CLEAN IT.
THEN THE CAR WOULDN'T START.
THE NEW BATTERIES
WERE DEFECTIVE.
TIME AFTER TIME THEY STRUGGLED
TO GET THE ENGINE GOING,
BUT WITH NO LUCK.
HOURS TICKED BY.
CROCKER TRIED EVERYTHING
HE COULD THINK OF TO COAX
THE VERMONT TO LIFE,
BUT STILL
IT REFUSED TO START.
NOONTIME CAME AND WENT,
THEN MOST OF THE AFTERNOON.
Man as Jackson: ABOUT 4:00,
A COWPUNCHER WENT BY,
AND WE CALLED HIM TO US
BY FIRING MY GUN.
HE TIED HIS LASSOS TO OUR CAR
AND TOWED US.
Narrator:
THE 20-HORSEPOWER AUTOMOBILE
THAT PEOPLE HAD CALLED
"ONE OF THE WONDERS OF
THE CENTURY"
NOW FOUND ITSELF
BEING SLOWLY DRAGGED
LIKE A STUBBORN CALF
ACROSS THE DESERT FLOOR
BY A COWBOY AND HIS HORSE.
SOMEHOW, WORD OF JACKSON
AND CROCKER'S TROUBLES
FILTERED BACK
TO THE LAKEVIEW EXAMINER.
"IF THEY MEET WITH
AS MANY ACCIDENTS
AND ARE DELAYED AS LONG
AS THEY WERE IN ALTURAS
AND LAKEVIEW,"
THE NEWSPAPER REPORTED,
"IT WILL BE WINTER
BEFORE THEY SEE THE ATLANTIC."
WHEN THEY FINALLY ARRIVED
AT THE NEAREST RANCH HOUSE,
CROCKER AGAIN WENT TO WORK
AND AT LAST
GOT THE VERMONT RUNNING.
THEY SET OFF IMMEDIATELY,
FOLLOWING
WHAT JACKSON CALLED
"THE DAMNEDEST, ROUGH,
ROCKY, SANDY ROAD
THIS SIDE OF HADES."
14 LONG HOURS
AFTER LEAVING LAKEVIEW,
THEY REACHED
A RANCH CALLED THE SL.
Man as Jackson:
THE RANCH MAN KINDLY OFFERED
TO GIVE US HIS ATTIC
FOR THE NIGHT,
SO WE CRAWLED
UP THE LADDER FOR BED.
HERE WE FOUND A PILE
OF RAGS IN ONE CORNER
WITH TWO BLANKETS
THAT EVERY SETTLER
COMING THAT WAY SINCE '49
HAD SLEPT UNDER.
IT IS NEEDLESS TO SAY
THAT WE EACH SAT ON A NAIL KEG
AND WAITED FOR OUR HOST
AND HOSTESS TO GET TO SLEEP.
THIS WE SOON DISCOVERED
FROM THE SONOROUS SOUND
THAT CAME UP
THROUGH THE PLANKS OF OUR FLOOR,
WHEREUPON WE BOTH JUMPED
OUT OF THE WINDOW
AND HAD A VERY
COMFORTABLE NIGHT
IN ONE OF THE HORSE STALLS
IN THE BARN.
Narrator:
ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 7,
JACKSON AND CROCKER RESUMED
THEIR JOURNEY ACROSS THE DESERT
AND SOON ENCOUNTERED
HOMESTEADERS
TRAVELING BY WAGON
TO SOME OF THE ONLY FREE LAND
STILL AVAILABLE IN THE NATION.
Man as Jackson: I CANNOT SEE
WHY THEY'D COME TO THIS DESERT,
BUT THE OREGON AGENTS
SEEM TO BE ABLE TO PAINT THEM
A MOST BEAUTIFUL PICTURE
OF THE HOMESTEADS HERE.
ONE POOR FELLOW,
SEEING US COMING DOWN THE ROAD,
THOUGHT THE TRAIN
HAD GOT OFF THE TRACK,
SO HE HASTILY
UNHARNESSED HIS HORSES,
AND HE AND HIS WIFE
CRAWLED UNDER THE WAGON.
OF COURSE, WHEN WE CAME ALONG,
WE FRIGHTENED THEIR HORSES,
AND THEY RAN MANY MILES
ACROSS THE DESERT.
I WAS VERY SORRY
FOR THE POOR FELLOW,
BUT HE WAS AS GREEN
AS THEY MAKE THEM.
Narrator: THE WAGON ROADS
WERE SO ROUGH
THAT JACKSON AND CROCKER
DECIDED INSTEAD
TO MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH
THE SAGEBRUSH--
WHICH SOON STRIPPED OFF
THEIR NEW CYCLOMETER,
MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE
TO MEASURE DISTANCES.
AND SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY,
THE GASOLINE IN THEIR EXTRA
STORAGE TANK LEAKED OUT.
WHEN THEY REACHED
AN OUTPOST CALLED OKERMAN'S
ON SILVER CREEK THAT EVENING,
THEY HAD LESS THAN A QUART LEFT.
IT WAS 26 MILES TO BURNS,
THE NEAREST TOWN
WHERE GAS MIGHT BE AVAILABLE.
WITH NO TELEPHONE AT OKERMAN'S,
JACKSON RENTED
THE OWNER'S BICYCLE
AND SENT CROCKER OFF ON IT.
CROCKER WAS GONE ALL NIGHT
AND HALF THE NEXT DAY--
FORCED TO WALK
MOST OF THE DISTANCE
WHEN HIS BICYCLE TIRE
WAS PUNCTURED--
FINALLY RETURNING WITH
4 GALLONS OF GASOLINE
AND 3 GALLONS OF BENZENE
WHICH, JACKSON COMPLAINED,
COST HIM NEARLY $20.
FINALLY, ON THE AFTERNOON
OF JUNE 10,
THEIR 19th DAY ON THE ROAD,
THEY MOTORED
INTO ONTARIO, OREGON--
A TOWN NEAR THE IDAHO BORDER
AND, MORE IMPORTANT,
A STOP ON THE OREGON
SHORT LINE RAILROAD.
WAITING FOR THEM AT THE STATION
WERE A FULL SET OF NEW TIRES
AND A NEW FRONT SPRING.
"WHEN WE SAW THE RAILROAD,"
JACKSON WROTE HIS WIFE,
"WE BOTH FELT LIKE
THROWING UP OUR HATS
AND GIVING 3 CHEERS."
Man as Jackson:
THURSDAY, JUNE 11:
MY DEAR SWIPES,
WE PUT ON OUR NEW SPRINGS
AND ONE NEW TIRE
AND LEFT ONTARIO
A LITTLE AFTER 4:00.
WE CROSSED THE SNAKE RIVER
BY A FERRY
AND ARE NOW IN IDAHO.
SHORTLY AFTER WE LEFT,
IT COMMENCED TO RAIN,
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME,
WE HAD TO TAKE OUT
OUR RUBBER CLOTHING.
THIS MADE TRAVELING
VERY BAD.
WE FOUND A STREAM TO FORD
AND THOUGHT, OF COURSE,
WE COULD MAKE IT, AS WE HAD
MANY OTHERS, BY SHOOTING IT,
BUT THE MUD WAS VERY DEEP,
AND WE GOT STUCK IN
THE CENTER OF IT.
WE DID NOT ARRIVE IN CALDWELL
UNTIL 12:00 AT NIGHT,
AND THEN SOAKING WET.
WE PUT UP
AT THE PACIFIC HOTEL,
AND THE PEOPLE NOTICED
WE WERE CARRYING WITH US
A VERY STRONG ODOR.
WE HAD RUN OVER A SKUNK.
Narrator:
BEFORE LEAVING CALDWELL, IDAHO,
THE NEXT MORNING,
JACKSON ADDED A THIRD MEMBER
TO THE EXPEDITION--
A YOUNG BULLDOG NAMED BUD,
WHICH HE PURCHASED FOR $15.
RIDING IN FRONT AND,
JUST LIKE HIS MASTER,
WEARING A PAIR OF GOGGLES
TO KEEP THE DUST
FROM STINGING HIS EYES,
BUD QUICKLY LEARNED
TO WATCH THE ROAD AHEAD
JUST AS INTENTLY AS
CROCKER AND JACKSON,
BRACING HIMSELF
FOR EVERY BUMP AND TURN.
"BUD SOON BECAME AN ENTHUSIAST
FOR MOTORING," JACKSON BRAGGED,
ADDING, "HE WAS
THE ONE MEMBER OF OUR TRIO
WHO USED NO PROFANITY
ON THE ENTIRE TRIP."
TAKING ROADS THAT PARALLELED
THE RAIL LINE,
JACKSON NOW PLANNED ON
MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME.
BUT ONCE AGAIN
HE GOT SOME BAD ADVICE
AND FOLLOWED
THE WRONG SET OF TRACKS,
WHICH TOOK THEM 38 MILES
OUT OF THEIR WAY
BEFORE THEY REALIZED IT.
THEY MOTORED ON
TO THE TOWN OF HAILEY,
JUST SOUTH OF IDAHO'S
SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS.
FROM THERE, JACKSON TELEGRAPHED
THE WINTON COMPANY IN CLEVELAND,
PLACING AN ORDER FOR THEM TO
SHIP HIM A NEW AIR INTAKE PIPE,
SINCE THE ORIGINAL HAD DROPPED
OFF SOMEWHERE ALONG THE ROAD.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
HE HAD CONTACTED
THE COMPANY DIRECTLY
AND THE FIRST TIME
WINTON OFFICIALS BECAME AWARE
THAT ONE OF THEIR CARS WAS
TRYING TO CROSS THE CONTINENT.
Man as Jackson:
MONDAY MORNING, JUNE 15:
WE STARTED ON WHAT THEY CALL
THE ZIGZAG ROAD,
WHICH RUNS ALONG
A GREAT LAVA BED.
THE COUNTRY TOOK ON
A NEW CHARACTER--
SOARING HEIGHTS
OF DENUDED SLOPES,
MONSTROUS CLIFFS,
AND GIANT BOULDERS SCATTERED
IN MAGNIFICENT CONFUSION.
Narrator: THEIR ROUTE
TOOK THEM THROUGH
WHAT IS NOW CRATERS OF THE MOON
NATIONAL MONUMENT--
A DESOLATE, EERIE LANDSCAPE
SHAPED AND RESHAPED BY A SERIES
OF VOLCANIC CATACLYSMS.
60 YEARS BEFORE JACKSON,
WAGON TRAINS OF PIONEERS
HAD VENTURED THIS WAY
ON WHAT WAS CALLED
THE GOODALE'S CUTOFF
ON THE OREGON TRAIL.
60 YEARS AFTER JACKSON,
ASTRONAUTS
WOULD BE BROUGHT THERE
TO TRAIN FOR
THE FIRST LUNAR LANDING.
THROUGHOUT RURAL IDAHO,
JUST AS IN OREGON,
PEOPLE SURROUNDED THE VERMONT,
ONE LOCAL NEWSPAPER REPORTED,
"AS FLIES SURROUND
A KEG OF MOLASSES,"
AND THEY OFTEN GAVE
THE TRAVELERS HOME-COOKED MEALS
IN EXCHANGE FOR SHORT RIDES
ON WHAT SOME OF THEM CALLED
THE GO-LIKE-HELL MACHINE.
BY JUNE 16, THEY HAD PASSED
THROUGH THE TOWNS OF BLACKFOOT,
POCATELLO, AND SQUAW CREEK,
AND FOUND WHAT JACKSON CALLED
"AN EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD ROAD"
THAT ALLOWED THEM TO OPEN UP
THE VERMONT'S THROTTLE
AS THEY WHIRLED INTO
THE QUIET VILLAGE OF
SODA SPRINGS.
Man: THE FIRST AUTOMOBILE
TO INVADE SODA SPRINGS
ROUNDED THE CORNER
AT WHITMAN'S STORE
JUST AT SUNDOWN TUESDAY NIGHT,
AND WITH A TOOT THAT SOUNDED
LIKE A YOUNG FOG HORN
WHIZZED UP DILLON STREET
AND STOPPED AT THE IDANHA HOTEL.
WHEN THE COW BOYS,
SHEEP HERDERS AND INDIANS
RECOVERED FROM THEIR SURPRISE
THEY CAUGHT THEIR BREATH
AND LET OUT A WHOOP
THAT WAS TAKEN UP
AND PASSED ALONG
THE ENTIRE LENGTH
OF THE BLOCK.
THE INTEREST
IN ROULETTE AND TWENTY-ONE
WAS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED
UNTIL THE STRANGE MACHINE
HAD BEEN THOROUGHLY EXAMINED
AND THE CURIOSITY OF
THE CROWD APPEASED.
THE IDANHA CHIEFTAIN.
Least Heat-Moon: WHEN JACKSON
WOULD COME INTO A TOWN
AND THE PEOPLE WOULD SEE
FOR THE FIRST TIME--
WOULD LAY THEIR EYES
FOR THE FIRST TIME
ON AN AUTOMOBILE,
A WHOLE NEW ERA HAS ARRIVED,
AND A SENSE THAT--
EVEN THOUGH WHEN ERAS ARRIVE,
WE DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND THEM
OR KNOW WHERE THEY'RE TAKING US,
WE STILL HAVE THE SENSE
EVERYTHING HAS JUST CHANGED.
WHEN THIS HORSELESS CARRIAGE
COMES INTO TOWN,
THINGS ARE NOT GONNA BE THE SAME
EVER AGAIN IN THIS VILLAGE.
Narrator: IN SODA SPRINGS,
JACKSON DISCOVERED THAT
YET ANOTHER PERSONAL ITEM
HAD FALLEN OFF
THE BOUNCING CAR.
THIS TIME IT WAS HIS COAT,
WITH MOST OF HIS REMAINING CASH.
HE TELEGRAPHED HIS WIFE
TO WIRE HIM $200
IN CARE OF THE WESTERN UNION
OFFICE IN CHEYENNE, WYOMING,
WHICH HE NOW FELT CONFIDENT
HE WOULD REACH IN A FEW DAYS.
ON JUNE 17, THEY RATTLED
OUT OF TOWN, HEADED FOR WYOMING,
AND QUICKLY MADE 30 MILES--
UNTIL THE HUB AND BEARINGS
ON A FRONT WHEEL GAVE OUT.
IN MONTPELIER, IDAHO,
THEY BORROWED SOME BEARINGS FROM
A FARMER'S MOWING MACHINE
AND ONCE AGAIN HAD TO RELY ON
A LOCAL BLACKSMITH
TO INSTALL THEM.
THE DELAY COST THEM
THE REST OF THE DAY,
BUT JACKSON'S OPTIMISM
WAS UNDIMINISHED.
Man as Jackson:
DARLING SWIPES,
JUST A LINE TO SAY THAT
EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT
WITH YOUR WANDERING BOY.
I CAN'T WRITE MUCH,
AS WE SLEEP, THEN WORK.
WHEN YOU HEAR THAT WE HAVE
REACHED RAWLINS, WYOMING,
YOU WILL KNOW
THAT I CAN MAKE THE TRIP A GO,
SO BET ALL THE MONEY
YOU HAVE GOT ON IT.
WELL, OLD GIRLIE,
I CAN'T SAY ANY MORE.
YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL.
I SHALL MAKE UP FOR
LOST TIME.
NELSON.
Duncan:
IF EVER THERE WAS SOMEBODY
WHO SAW THE GLASS HALF-FULL
EVEN IF IT'S ONLY A QUARTER,
IT'S GOTTA BE
HORATIO NELSON JACKSON.
EVERY TIME--EVERY SINGLE TIME,
IT SEEMS THAT SOMETHING
GOES WRONG WITH HIS CAR.
AT A TIME WHEN A RATIONAL PERSON
PROBABLY WOULD SAY,
"I'VE GONE FAR ENOUGH,
GAVE IT MY BEST SHOT.
I'LL CATCH THE TRAIN,
GO HOME,"
INSTEAD HE WRITES TO HIS WIFE,
AND IT'S THIS SORT OF--
I DON'T THINK IT WAS
ALL BRAVADO
OR JUST TRYING TO REASSURE HER
THAT EVERYTHING WAS OK.
I THINK HE BELIEVED IT.
"IF I JUST GET OVER
THIS NEXT THING,
IT'S GONNA BE SMOOTH SAILING
FROM HERE ON OUT."
AND HE SAID THAT TIME AND TIME
AND TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
EVERY OBSTACLE
THAT HE ENCOUNTERED
WAS GOING TO BE
THE LAST OBSTACLE,
AND, OF COURSE,
IT NEVER WAS.
Narrator: THINGS GOT
EVEN WORSE ON JUNE 20,
AFTER THEY HAD CROSSED
INTO WYOMING.
A TREMENDOUS CLOUDBURST
STRUCK THE AREA
AFTER THEY PASSED THROUGH
THE TOWN OF GRANGER,
FLOODING
AND WASHING OUT THE ROAD.
THEY NOW RESORTED TO
TRYING TO NAVIGATE
ACROSS THE OPEN COUNTRY,
CHANGING DIRECTION
EVERY TIME THEY ENCOUNTERED
A GULLY TOO DEEP TO CROSS--
AND GETTING HOPELESSLY LOST.
"WE ZIGZAGGED AS BEST WE COULD,"
JACKSON WROTE.
"SOMETIMES WE WENT NORTH
INSTEAD OF EAST;
"AT OTHERS,
WE EVEN WENT NORTHWEST,
BRINGING US BACK
WHERE WE HAD BEEN BEFORE."
THEY STRUGGLED ALONG
FOR HOURS,
ULTIMATELY GOING
69 MILES OUT OF THEIR WAY.
Man as Jackson:
COMING TO THE BANK OF A RIVER,
WE JUDGED FROM OUR MAPS
AND COMPASS
THAT IT WAS THE GREEN RIVER,
AND WE RESOLVED TO
FOLLOW ITS DOWNWARD COURSE.
WHEN NIGHT CAME ON,
WE MADE CAMP BESIDE THE CAR,
AND HAVING LOST OUR COOKING
OUTFIT AND PROVISIONS
AND IT BEING
AN UNINHABITED REGION,
WENT TO BED
WITHOUT ANY SUPPER.
Narrator: AS THEY WENT
TO SLEEP THAT NIGHT,
JACKSON AND CROCKER HAD NO WAY
OF KNOWING THAT TWO OTHER MEN
HAD STARTED ON THEIR OWN
CAR TRIP ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
Man: SAN FRANCISCO,
JUNE 20, 1903:
AT 2:00, TOM FETCH TOOK
HIS PLACE AT THE STEERING WHEEL.
BESIDE HIM, I TOOK MY SEAT,
AND THE COURSE WAS STEERED
TO THE FAMOUS CLIFF HOUSE
OVERLOOKING
THE PACIFIC OCEAN,
THENCE TO DEPART ON THE LONG,
LAND-BOUND EXPEDITION.
MARIUS KRARUP.
Narrator: MARIUS KRARUP
AND TOM FETCH
HAD BEEN CHOSEN BY
THE PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY
TO DRIVE ONE OF THEIR BRAND-NEW
12-HORSEPOWER TOURING CARS
FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO NEW YORK.
FETCH WAS ALREADY A TEST DRIVER
FOR THE COMPANY.
KRARUP WAS A REPORTER
FOR AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE,
ALONG TO FILE REGULAR DISPATCHES
ON WHAT PACKARD'S
ADVERTISING CHIEF ADMITTED WAS
"A SPECTACLE TO GAIN PUBLICITY
AND TO PROVE THE CAR'S
DURABILITY."
FOR 3 MONTHS,
WELL BEFORE
HORATIO NELSON JACKSON
HAD EVER MADE HIS BET,
THE PACKARD COMPANY
HAD BEEN PLANNING THEIR TRIP.
IT WAS EVERYTHING THAT
JACKSON'S EXPEDITION WAS NOT.
EACH DAY'S ITINERARY
ALONG THE MAIN ROUTE
OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
HAD BEEN PREDETERMINED,
WITH EXTRA SUPPLIES
PLACED AT STRATEGIC POINTS
AND THE MEN'S PERSONAL LUGGAGE
SHIPPED AHEAD BY TRAIN
EACH MORNING
TO THE NEXT STOPPING PLACE.
AN EXPERT MACHINIST
FROM THE PACKARD FACTORY
WAS EVEN SENT ALONG--
RIDING IN THE CAR SOME DAYS,
TAKING THE TRAIN AHEAD
ON OTHERS.
RIGHT FROM THE START,
FETCH AND KRARUP
MADE EXCELLENT TIME.
BY THE FIFTH DAY,
THEY HAD CROSSED THE SUMMITS OF
THE SIERRA NEVADAS AT LAKE TAHOE
AND DESCENDED INTO CARSON CITY.
LEARNING FROM
ALEXANDER WINTON'S DISASTER
WITH DEEP SAND
TWO YEARS EARLIER,
THEY CAME EQUIPPED WITH
TWO LONG STRIPS OF HEAVY CANVAS
TO ROLL OUT ACROSS SOFT SPOTS
AND PROVIDE ENOUGH TRACTION
TO KEEP FROM BOGGING DOWN.
THEIR FIRST DAY ON
THE NEVADA DESERT,
THEY COVERED MORE THAN 70 MILES
AND FELT CONFIDENT ENOUGH
ABOUT THEIR PROGRESS
TO TAKE THE NEXT DAY OFF,
SIMPLY TO WAIT FOR MORE FILM
FOR KRARUP'S CAMERA.
EVERYWHERE THEY WENT,
THEY IGNORED THE FACT
THAT JACKSON WAS ALREADY
ON THE ROAD
AND CLAIMED TO BE
THE ONLY OFFICIAL TEAM
CROSSING THE CONTINENT.
Wall: I THINK
THAT HE HAD NO IDEA
HOW HARD IT WOULD BE.
I THINK THAT ONCE
HE HAD THE FOCUS
OF ACCOMPLISHING
THIS DREAM,
THAT WAS THE--
THAT WAS WHAT DROVE HIM,
WAS TO FINISH THE TRIP
AND DO IT,
AND IT WASN'T THE BET.
NO.
IT WASN'T GETTING
THE MONEY.
IT WAS JUST DOING IT.
AND IN THE LETTERS
THAT HE SENDS BACK,
HE SAYS EVERY ONCE
IN A WHILE,
"I'M GOING TO DO THIS.
I'M GOING TO DO IT."
Narrator: WHEN HE AWOKE
ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 21,
JACKSON WAS STILL LOST
IN WESTERN WYOMING,
AND HE WOULD LATER DESCRIBE
HIS NIGHT CAMPED BY THE RIVER
AS THE TIME
"THAT 30,000 MOSQUITOES DIED
ON THE BACK OF MY NECK."
BUT HIS MORE IMMEDIATE CONCERN
WAS FOOD.
IT HAD BEEN NEARLY 36 HOURS
SINCE THEY HAD LAST EATEN.
"AND AS WE TIGHTENED OUR BELTS,"
HE JOKED LATER,
"BOTH CROCKER AND I
WERE STEALING
SPECULATIVE GLANCES AT BUD."
THEY FOLLOWED THE RIVER SOUTH,
HOPING IT WOULD LEAD THEM
TO A TOWN OR A HOMESTEAD.
INSTEAD, THEY FINALLY
CAME UPON A LONELY SHEEPHERDER
WHO SAID HE HADN'T SEEN ANOTHER
HUMAN BEING IN 3 WEEKS
AND HAPPILY OFFERED THEM A FEAST
OF ROAST LAMB AND BOILED CORN--
"THE FINEST MEAL," JACKSON SAID,
"I EVER ATE."
WHEN THE SHEEPHERDER
REFUSED TO BE PAID FOR THE FOOD,
JACKSON INSISTED THAT
HE AT LEAST ACCEPT A RIFLE
AS A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION.
"IF HE HAD ASKED US THEN
FOR MY CAR," JACKSON ADDED,
"I BELIEVE WE WOULD
HAVE GIVEN IT TO HIM."
THE SHEEPHERDER
ALSO DIRECTED THEM
TO THE NEAREST ROAD,
AND THEY WERE SOON
HEADING EAST ONCE MORE,
ALONG THE ROUTE
THAT WOULD ONE DAY BECOME
THE FAMED LINCOLN HIGHWAY
AND HALF A CENTURY AFTER THAT,
INTERSTATE 80--
THE PRINCIPAL THOROUGHFARE
ACROSS THE NATION.
IT PARALLELED THE
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD LINE
AND TOOK THEM THROUGH
THE TOWNS OF BRYAN,
GREEN RIVER,
AND ROCK SPRINGS.
"A CIRCUS ARRIVED
IN ROCK SPRINGS THE SAME DAY,"
JACKSON WROTE HIS WIFE,
"AND WE ARE TAKEN
FOR PART OF THE SHOW."
Man as Jackson:
MONDAY, JUNE 22:
WE ARE SPENDING
MOST OF THE TIME
TRYING TO GET OUT OF WATER
AND MUD HOLES.
WE BURIED OUR CAR
COMPLETELY IN ONE,
AND AFTER WORKING HALF A DAY
TO GET IT OUT AGAIN,
3 ITALIANS CAME ALONG,
EACH PACKING A HEAVY BAG.
I EXPLAINED TO THEM
THAT THE NEXT STOP
WAS 12 MILES AWAY
AND THAT IF THEY
WOULD HELP US OUT,
I WOULD TAKE
THEIR BAGGAGE IN FOR THEM.
THIS THEY CONSENTED TO DO,
AND IN ABOUT AN HOUR,
WE WERE ON OUR WAY AGAIN.
AFTER DELIVERING THEIR LUGGAGE
TO THE SECTION BOSS,
WE STARTED ON FOR BITTER CREEK,
CROSSING TWO RIVERS
OVER THE RAILROAD BRIDGE.
WE HAD NO TROUBLE
IN CROSSING RAILROAD BRIDGES.
WITH PRACTICE, BUMPING OVER
BRIDGE TIES IS NO GREAT TASK.
SOMETIMES, THOUGH,
WE HAD TO HUNT FOR 5 MILES
TO FIND A PLACE WHERE WE COULD
GET OUR MACHINE ON THE TRACK.
Narrator: ON JUNE 23,
EXACTLY ONE MONTH
AFTER LEAVING SAN FRANCISCO,
THEY PULLED INTO RAWLINS,
THE SAME TOWN
JACKSON HAD ASSURED HIS WIFE
WOULD SIGNAL EASY GOING
FOR THE REST OF THE TRIP.
THEY MADE ARRANGEMENTS TO STAY
AT THE FERRIS HOTEL,
LOOKING FORWARD TO
THEIR FIRST COMFORTABLE BED
IN NEARLY A WEEK.
BUT AS JACKSON AND CROCKER
DROVE THE SHORT DISTANCE
TO PARK THEIR CAR
IN A LIVERY STABLE
DOWN THE STREET,
THE VERMONT CAME TO A NOISY
AND SUDDEN STOP.
THE STUD BOLTS HOLDING
THE CONNECTING ROD
TO THE CRANKSHAFT
SHEARED OFF AND PIERCED
THROUGH THE CRANKCASE COVER--
THE WORST MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN
TO DATE.
THIS WAS A PROBLEM
THAT COULD NOT BE FIXED
WITHOUT NEW PARTS
FROM THE WINTON FACTORY IN OHIO.
JACKSON HAD NO CHOICE
BUT TO TELEGRAPH THE COMPANY
AND WAIT FOR A TRAIN
TO DELIVER THEM.
FOR 5 DAYS, JACKSON
WAS STUCK IN RAWLINS,
ARRANGING FOR HIS BANK
TO SEND HIM MORE MONEY,
WRITING LONG LETTERS
TO HIS WIFE,
WAITING IMPATIENTLY
FOR THE PARTS TO ARRIVE,
AND LEARNING FOR THE FIRST TIME
THAT FETCH AND KRARUP
WERE ON THEIR WAY
FROM SAN FRANCISCO
IN THEIR PACKARD.
Man as Jackson: FERRIS HOTEL,
RAWLINS, WYOMING, JUNE 28, 1903:
MY DARLING SWIPES...
JUST A LINE TO SAY
THAT I AM STILL ALIVE.
OUR THINGS ARRIVED THIS MORNING,
AND WE HELD DIVINE SERVICES
IN THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP.
WE SHALL TRY
AND GET AWAY TONIGHT.
OUR CAR WILL NOW BE
AS GOOD AS NEW.
WE HAVE HAD HARD LUCK,
BUT I THINK IT ALL CAME AT ONCE.
WE SHALL NOW TRY
AND MAKE A RECORD TRIP.
THE WORST OF IT IS OVER,
AND EVERYONE
IS CONGRATULATING US.
THERE ARE OTHERS ON THE WAY,
TRYING TO BEAT US ACROSS,
BUT I FEEL CONFIDENT
THEY WILL GIVE IT UP.
Narrator:
WITH THEIR CAR REPAIRED,
JACKSON AND CROCKER
HEADED FOR LARAMIE
AND AT ELK MOUNTAIN
ENCOUNTERED THE STEEPEST
SLOPES OF THEIR JOURNEY--
ROCKY TRAILS IN WHICH
THEY SOMETIMES HAD TO JACK UP
THE CAR TO GET OUT OF DEEP RUTS
OR STOP TO PUSH BOULDERS
OUT OF THEIR PATH.
IN OTHER PLACES,
RANCHERS WERE USING THE ROAD AS
IRRIGATION DITCHES,
SLOWING THE TRAVELERS DOWN
EVEN MORE
ON THE SLIPPERY SURFACE.
17 TIMES THE MEN RESORTED TO
THE BLOCK AND TACKLE
TO KEEP MOVING.
"I NEVER WORKED
SO HARD IN MY LIFE,"
JACKSON TOLD HIS WIFE,
"BUT WE CAN SHOW
WHAT THE MACHINE
AND GOOD MEN CAN DO."
THEN, IN MEDICINE BOW,
THEY ENCOUNTERED
AN ENTERPRISING STOREKEEPER
WHO HAD HEARD JUST HOW BADLY
THEY NEEDED GASOLINE
AND SMELLED AN OPPORTUNITY.
Man: DR. JACKSON SAID
THAT WHEN HE LEFT OREGON
THE SHERIFF THERE WARNED HIM
TO BEWARE OF HOLDUPS,
BUT THAT THE ONLY PLACE
HE BELIEVED HE HAD BEEN
HELD UP SO FAR
WAS AT A PLACE CALLED
MEDICINE BOW,
WHERE THEY CHARGED HIM $5.25
FOR 5 GALLONS OF GASOLINE.
LARAMIE BOOMERANG.
Narrator: EAST OF LARAMIE,
THEY STRUCK THE BEST ROAD
THEY HAD TRAVELED SINCE
CALIFORNIA'S SACRAMENTO VALLEY,
AND THEY SPED ALONG ON IT
TO CHEYENNE.
THERE LARGE CROWDS
GATHERED TO GAWK AT
WHAT THE WYOMING TRIBUNE
CALLED "A WHIZ WAGON,"
AND JACKSON WAS ELATED
TO FIND LETTERS FROM BERTHA
WAITING FOR HIM.
Man as Jackson: JULY 1, 1903:
DARLING SWIPES,
I HAVE JUST SHOOK HANDS
AND TALKED TO 200 PEOPLE,
AND THE ONLY WAY
I COULD GET AWAY
WAS TO SAY THAT I HAD
A LITTLE WIFE AT HOME
THAT WAS EXPECTING
A LETTER FROM ME.
YOU DON'T KNOW HOW GLAD I WAS
TO GET YOUR 3 DEAR LETTERS.
THEY PUT NEW VIGOR INTO ME,
YOU DEAR GIRL.
WELL, THE WORST OF OUR TRIP
IS OVER,
AND EVERYONE NOW SAYS
THAT WE CAN MAKE IT,
AND ALTHOUGH THERE
ARE OTHERS ON THE WAY,
WE WILL GET THERE FIRST.
JUST WATCH ME NOW.
NELLIE.
Narrator: BUT LESS THAN AN HOUR
OUT OF CHEYENNE,
THE STUD BOLTS ON THE OTHER
CONNECTING ROD BROKE OFF,
AND THE VERMONT
GROUND TO A DEAD STOP.
A RAILROAD GRADING CREW
TOWED THE CAR TO THEIR
ISOLATED CAMP
NEAR THE SMALL STATION
OF ARCHER.
CROCKER STRIPPED THE FRONT SEAT
OFF THE CAR
TO GET AT THE ENGINE
WHILE JACKSON WIRED
THE WINTON FACTORY ONCE MORE
FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS
AND ONCE MORE SETTLED IN TO WAIT
FOR THEIR DELIVERY BY TRAIN,
DAY AFTER AGONIZING DAY.
Man as Jackson:
SUNDAY, JULY 5, 1903:
MY DARLING SWIPES...
WE EXPECTED OUR EXPRESS ON #5
AT 3:00 THIS AFTERNOON,
BUT A MESSAGE THIS NOON
FROM THE TRAIN AGENT
SAYS THAT HE HAS NOTHING,
SO IT IS ANOTHER DAY.
IT HAS BEEN
AN AWFUL LONG TIME TO US,
AND I SHALL BE MIGHTY GLAD
WHEN WE ARE ON THE WAY AGAIN.
AND UNLESS ANOTHER
SERIOUS ACCIDENT HAPPENS,
WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE
TO MAKE GOOD TIME
ACROSS THESE PLAINS.
WELL, TOMORROW
IS OUR ANNIVERSARY,
AND I WISH I COULD BE WITH YOU.
I WANT TO CELEBRATE HERE
BY GETTING MY NEW PARTS.
I SHALL THINK OF YOU
A GOOD DEAL TOMORROW,
AS I ALWAYS DO.
YOU ARE THE BEST LITTLE WIFE
IN THE WORLD,
AND I'M A MIGHTY LUCKY FELLOW
TO HAVE YOU.
YES, OLD GIRL,
I APPRECIATE IT,
IF SOMETIMES I HAVE A QUEER WAY
OF SHOWING IT.
4 YEARS TOMORROW--
THEY HAVE BEEN VERY SHORT
AND DEAR ONES TO ME.
YOU HAVE DONE EVERYTHING IN
THE WORLD TO MAKE ME HAPPY.
I SHALL JUST TEAR UP THE GROUND
UNTIL I CAN BE WITH YOU.
WITH LOTS OF LOVE TO ALL,
I AM YOURS.
NELSON.
P.S.: I AM NOT MUCH OF A HAND
TO WRITE LOVE LETTERS--
YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME A CHANCE
FOR MUCH PRACTICE--
BUT YOU KNOW, DEAR, HOW I FEEL.
JULY 6, ARCHER, WYOMING:
PARTS DID NOT COME TODAY.
Narrator: JACKSON HAD NOW BEEN
ON THE ROAD FOR 42 DAYS,
NEARLY HALF OF THE 90 DAYS
SPECIFIED IN HIS WAGER,
BUT HE WAS ONLY 1/3
OF THE WAY TO NEW YORK,
AND HIS CAR NOW SEEMED TO BE
BREAKING DOWN AT EVERY TURN.
EVEN WORSE, WITH TOM FETCH
AND MARIUS KRARUP
AND THEIR PACKARD
FOLLOWING A MORE DIRECT ROUTE,
JACKSON WAS CONCERNED
THAT THEY MIGHT BE
CATCHING UP WITH HIM.
THEY WERE.
FETCH AND KRARUP HAD BEEN
CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE,
AVERAGING TWICE AS MANY MILES
A DAY AS JACKSON
AND RUNNING RIGHT ON SCHEDULE.
ON JULY 3, THEY COMPLETED
THEIR SECOND WEEK OF TRAVEL
BY COVERING 114 MILES
AND REACHING PROMONTORY, UTAH,
WHERE THE GOLDEN SPIKE
JOINING THE FIRST
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
HAD BEEN DRIVEN IN 1869.
AND ON JULY 4,
THEY DROVE ANOTHER 106 MILES
AND PULLED INTO SALT LAKE CITY
TO A WAVE OF PUBLICITY--
PRECISELY WHAT
THE COMPANY'S ADVERTISING
EXECUTIVE HAD PLANNED.
AT THE RATE THEY WERE GOING,
DESPITE STARTING
NEARLY A MONTH LATER,
FETCH AND KRARUP WERE NOW
ONLY 10 DAYS BEHIND JACKSON
AND CROCKER.
THEN ON JULY 6,
YET ANOTHER AUTOMOBILE SET OFF
FROM SAN FRANCISCO.
LESTER WHITMAN
AND EUGENE HAMMOND,
TWO EXPERIENCED DRIVERS
AND AUTOMOBILE MECHANICS,
WERE DRIVING
A 1903 OLDSMOBILE RUNABOUT:
THE FIRST AUTOMOBILE
TO BE MADE ON AN ASSEMBLY LINE
AND THE FIRST
THAT WOULD OUTSELL ELECTRIC-
AND STEAM-POWERED MACHINES.
IT WAS SMALLER AND CHEAPER
THAN THE TWO BIG TOURING CARS
THAT WERE ALREADY ON THE ROAD,
BUT LIKE THE PACKARD EXPEDITION,
THIS ONE WAS ALSO UNDERWRITTEN
BY THE MANUFACTURER.
FOLLOWING THE SAME ROUTE
AS FETCH AND KRARUP,
WHITMAN AND HAMMOND
QUICKLY CROSSED THE SIERRAS
AND WERE WELL INTO NEVADA
WITHIN A WEEK'S TIME.
THERE WERE NOW 3 AUTOMOBILES
RACING TO BECOME THE FIRST
TO CROSS THE CONTINENT.
Man as Jackson:
JULY 7: DARLING SWIPES,
PARTS ARRIVED;
LEAVE THIS NOON.
NOW IN GOOD SHAPE.
HOPE TO BE WITH YOU SOON.
Narrator:
JACKSON AND CROCKER AND BUD WERE
FINALLY ON THEIR WAY ONCE AGAIN.
THEY ENTERED NEBRASKA
AND AT THE PLATTE RIVER
ONCE MORE BEGAN FOLLOWING
THE ROUTE
BLAZED BY
THE PIONEER WAGON TRAINS
HEADING FOR
OREGON AND CALIFORNIA
HALF A CENTURY EARLIER.
Duncan: IF YOU'RE OUT
IN THE WEST, EVEN TODAY,
YOU CAN SEE SUCH GREAT HORIZONS,
BUT PART OF
THOSE HORIZONS SOMETIMES
ARE SOME OF THE FIERCEST
FRIGHTENING STORMS
YOU CAN IMAGINE.
THERE IN THE OPEN,
IN AN OPEN-SEATED CAR,
AND YOU SEE OFF BEHIND YOU
OR OFF IN THE DISTANCE
OR COMING RIGHT AT YOU
ONE OF THESE MOTHERS OF
ALL STORMS,
IT'S GOT TO BE
A FRIGHTENING PROSPECT.
THE RAIN STARTS PELTING YOU,
AND OF COURSE
YOU'RE ON A BAD ROAD, ANYWAY,
SO THERE'S NO PLACE TO GO.
THERE'S NO PLACE TO HIDE.
YOU'VE JUST GOT
TO TRY TO SLOG IT ON
A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.
EVEN AN OPTIMIST LIKE
HORATIO NELSON JACKSON
MUST HAVE FELT...
A LITTLE BIT SCARED
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE
AND DISCOURAGED
EVERY TIME HE LOOKED UP
INTO THE HORIZON
AND SAW YET ANOTHER STORM
COMING OVER.
Man as Jackson:
WHEN WE CROSSED INTO NEBRASKA,
THE MUD BECOME WORSE
INSTEAD OF BETTER.
HERE, IT RAINED CONSTANTLY.
THE MUD WAS A CEMENTLIKE MASS
THAT STUCK TO THINGS
LIKE THE BEST PORTLAND,
AND IT SEEMED TO HAVE NO BOTTOM.
THE CAR SANK IN IT
CLEAR UP TO THE BATTERY BOXES--
THAT IS NEARLY
TO THE TOPS OF THE WHEELS--
AND THEN WE WOULD GET OUT
THE BLOCK AND TACKLE
AND HAUL IT OUT.
ONE DAY WE REPEATED
THIS PERFORMANCE 18 TIMES.
THESE PLACES WERE LOCALLY TERMED
"BUFFALO WALLOWS."
WE WALLOWED IN THEM,
SOMETIMES TEARING DOWN
A SECTION OF FENCE
AND PUT THEM UNDER THE WHEELS
TO MAKE A FOUNDATION.
Narrator:
THEY DETOURED NORTH FOR A WHILE,
AWAY FROM THE PLATTE RIVER,
PICKING UP SPEED AS THEY FINALLY
FOUND BETTER AND DRIER ROADS.
Duncan: AS HE MOVED EAST,
THE CAR BECAME A SENSATION LESS
BECAUSE IT WAS TOTALLY NEW--
AS IT HAD BEEN FARTHER WEST--
BUT IT BECAME
IN A CERTAIN EXTENT
A GREATER SENSATION,
BECAUSE NOW THERE WAS THE NEWS
THAT THIS MIGHT BE
HISTORY IN THE MAKING.
CROCKER AND JACKSON
AND PARTICULARLY BUD
BECAME CELEBRITIES,
BECAUSE PEOPLE WANTED TO
COME OUT NOW
AND SEE WHETHER THIS GUY
COULD MAKE IT ACROSS OR NOT.
PEOPLE KNEW THAT THERE
WERE TWO OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD
AND THAT THIS
WAS SOMETHING OF A RACE.
Narrator:
THEY RUSHED THROUGH KEARNEY,
GRAND ISLAND, COLUMBUS,
AND DOZENS OF SMALLER TOWNS,
AND AS THE TELEGRAPH LINES
ANNOUNCED THEIR IMPENDING
ARRIVAL IN EACH ONE,
PEOPLE FLOCKED TO SEE JACKSON
AND HIS MACHINE.
DISAPPOINTMENT WAS KEEN,
ONE NEWSPAPER REPORTED,
WHEN HE TORE THROUGH THE TOWN
AT A 40-MILE-AN-HOUR CLIP
WITHOUT STOPPING.
IN A FINAL LONG DAY IN NEBRASKA,
THEY COVERED
AN ASTONISHING 250 MILES,
DESPITE BREAKING A FRONT AXLE
THAT HAD TO BE WELDED BY
YET ANOTHER BLACKSMITH.
AND ON THE MORNING OF JULY 12,
THEY ROLLED INTO OMAHA
NEAR THE PLACE
WHERE LEWIS AND CLARK
HAD HELD THEIR FIRST MEETING
WITH A HANDFUL OF
AMERICAN INDIANS
A CENTURY EARLIER.
NOW A HUGE CROWD TURNED OUT
TO GREET JACKSON
AND HIS EXPEDITION.
Man: THE OMAHA MORNING
WORLD HERALD:
THE EXPERIENCES
AND ADVENTURES OF THE TRIP
HAVE BEEN OF
AN EXCITING NATURE,
WHICH MAY BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD
WHEN IT IS KNOWN THAT
HE TRAVELED 3,000 MILES
THROUGH A COUNTRY
NEVER BEFORE TOUCHED
BY AN AUTOMOBILE.
BEFORE LEAVING, THE MACHINE
WILL HAVE A THOROUGH OVERHAULING
AND BE PUT INTO CONDITION
FOR FAST RUNNING.
INCIDENTALLY, HALF A TON
OF NEBRASKA CLAY
WHICH IT HAS GATHERED
DURING THE PAST FEW DAYS
WILL BE REMOVED.
Narrator: THE SPREADING NEWS
OF JACKSON'S QUEST,
AS WELL AS
THE INTENSE PUBLICITY
SURROUNDING BOTH THE PACKARD
AND THE OLDSMOBILE JOURNEYS,
HAD NOT ONLY AROUSED
GREATER PUBLIC INTEREST
IN THE VERMONT'S PROGRESS,
IT HAD SPURRED
THE WINTON COMPANY INTO ACTION.
Man as Jackson:
DARLING SWIPES...
ON OUR ARRIVAL HERE,
I WAS MUCH SURPRISED
TO FIND A MAN FROM THE FACTORY
WITH A LETTER CONGRATULATING ME
AND STATING THAT THEY
WERE WILLING TO PLACE MEN
ALONG THE LINE WITH SUPPLIES
AT THEIR EXPENSE.
Narrator: THE WINTON COMPANY
NOW OFFERED TO PROVIDE JACKSON
WITH THE SAME FINANCIAL SUPPORT
THE OLDSMOBILE
AND PACKARD COMPANIES WERE
GIVING THE OTHER EXPEDITIONS,
BUT IT WOULD ALSO MEAN
THE WINTON COMPANY
WOULD BE IN CHARGE OF
THE REST OF THE TRIP.
THAT EVENING,
IN HIS LETTER TO BERTHA,
JACKSON REVEALED HIS ANSWER.
Man as Jackson:
I HAVE INFORMED THEM
THAT WE HAVE MADE THE TRIP
SO FAR WITHOUT THEIR ASSISTANCE
AND THOUGHT THAT PERHAPS
WE TWO GREENHORNS
COULD DO THE REST OF IT.
Narrator: "WINTON'S MAN,"
HE ADDED IN A TELEGRAM
THE NEXT MORNING
AS HE PULLED OUT OF TOWN
WITH CROCKER AND BUD,
"CANNOT UNDERSTAND
HOW WE MADE IT."
FOLLOWING THE ROUTE
OF THE CHICAGO
AND NORTHWESTERN RAILROAD,
THEY SPED ACROSS IOWA
AND WESTERN ILLINOIS
IN SUCH A RUSH
THAT JACKSON DIDN'T EVEN STOP
TO SEND TELEGRAMS TO BERTHA
ABOUT THEIR PROGRESS.
EVERYWHERE THEY WENT,
PEOPLE TURNED OUT
TO CHEER THEM ON.
4 DAYS AFTER LEAVING OMAHA,
THEY PULLED INTO CHICAGO,
WHERE JACKSON
PROUDLY TOLD REPORTERS,
"WE HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT WE CAN RUN OUR CAR
"OVER ANY ROAD THAT A MAN
CAN TAKE A TEAM OF HORSES
AND A WAGON,
PROVIDING WE CAN GET TRACTION."
"WE WERE HONORED WITH RECEPTIONS
BY CITY OFFICIALS,
"AUTOMOBILE DEALERS,
AND HERO WORSHIPERS GENERALLY,"
JACKSON WROTE,
"BUT THE ONE THOUGHT
IN OUR MINDS WAS TO FINISH."
THE NEXT DAY,
A CARAVAN OF
AUTOMOBILE ENTHUSIASTS
ESCORTED THEM OUT OF CHICAGO--
ALTHOUGH THEIR DEPARTURE
WAS DELAYED A FEW HOURS
UNTIL THEY COULD FIND BUD,
WHO HAD WANDERED OFF
IN THE CROWD.
THEY RUSHED THROUGH HAMMOND
AND SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,
THEN TOLEDO, OHIO,
AND ON THE 20th OF JULY--
THE 59th DAY OF THEIR JOURNEY--
THEY WERE PERSONALLY
GREETED BY
THE WINTON COMPANY'S
ADVERTISING MANAGER--
CHARLES B. SHANKS--
WHO HAD ACCOMPANIED
ALEXANDER WINTON
ON HIS ABORTED TRIP
IN 1901.
THEN A CONVOY OF CARS LED THEM
TRIUMPHANTLY INTO CLEVELAND.
Man as Jackson:
MONDAY EVENING: DARLING SWIPES,
WELL, OLD GIRL, I HAVE BROUGHT
THE CAR TO ITS BIRTHPLACE,
AND A GREAT RECEPTION IT GOT.
WE HAD QUITE A PROCESSION
INTO THE CITY.
THEY ARE ALL
LIKE A LOT OF KIDS.
Narrator: SURROUNDED
BY REPORTERS WHO NOW
HUNG ON HIS EVERY WORD,
JACKSON SAID HIS CHIEF
ADVICE TO ANYONE TRYING
TO MAKE A SIMILAR TRIP
WOULD BE FOR THEM
TO FIGURE OUT THEIR EXPENSES
AND MULTIPLY THAT BY 20.
Man: THE JACKSON PARTY
WENT TO THE HOLLENDEN HOTEL
FOR A CLEANUP AND FOR SUPPER
WHILE THE FAITHFUL
BULLDOG MASCOT--
SO UGLY THAT HE'S HANDSOME--
REMAINED IN CHARGE
AND FOUGHT FLIES
AND KEPT OFF
INQUISITIVE NEWSBOYS.
THE MOTOR AGE.
Narrator:
JACKSON WAS NOW CONFIDENT
THAT THE OTHER TWO CARS
COULD NOT BEAT HIM TO NEW YORK.
IT SEEMED LIKE A SAFE BET.
DESPITE ALL THEIR
METICULOUS PLANNING,
BOTH EXPEDITIONS HAD RUN
INTO PROBLEMS OF THEIR OWN.
INSTEAD OF CONTINUING TO FOLLOW
THE DIRECT ROUTE OF
THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD,
TOM FETCH AND MARIUS KRARUP
HAD TURNED SOUTHEAST
INTO THE CANYONS OF UTAH
AND THE HEART
OF COLORADO'S ROCKY MOUNTAINS,
A ROUTE PRESELECTED FOR THEM
BY THE PACKARD COMPANY'S
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
BACK IN OHIO.
"LIKE A DUMB FOOL,
"I WAS THINKING FROM
THE STANDPOINT OF PUBLICITY,
WITH PICTURES OF MOUNTAINS
AND CANYONS," HE SAID LATER,
"BUT WHAT I SENT THEM INTO WAS
SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE."
MEANWHILE,
THE OLDSMOBILE RUNABOUT
WAS EVEN FARTHER FROM ITS GOAL.
AFTER A SERIES OF BREAKDOWNS,
LESTER WHITMAN
AND EUGENE HAMMOND
WERE STILL IN NEVADA
WITH A BROKEN PART
THAT ALLOWED THEM
TO DRIVE IN REVERSE,
BUT NOT IN FORWARD.
Man as Jackson:
DARLING SWIPES,
THE CAR IS AT THE SHOP,
AND THEY ARE TO WORK ALL NIGHT
SO THAT I CAN GET AWAY
IN THE MORNING.
I GO FROM HERE TO BUFFALO.
I AM TIRED AND GOT TO GET UP
EARLY IN THE MORNING,
AND I AM DAMN ANXIOUS
TO GET YOU IN MY ARMS.
WATCH ME NOW COME TO YOU.
NEL.
Narrator: JACKSON
SET OFF FROM CLEVELAND
WITH CROCKER AND BUD
ON THE 21st OF JULY,
INTENT ON REACHING HIS GOAL
AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
TO AVOID THE RISK OF CROSSING
THE ALLEGHENY MOUNTAINS,
HE NOW DECIDED TO TURN
NORTHEAST
ALONG THE GREAT LAKES
TO BUFFALO,
THEN TO ALBANY
ON A NEW STATE ROAD
BEFORE TURNING SOUTH AGAIN
TO FOLLOW THE HUDSON RIVER
INTO MANHATTAN.
IT WOULD ADD SEVERAL HUNDRED
MILES TO THE TRIP,
BUT AS JACKSON TOLD A REPORTER,
"WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH
OF MOUNTAINS."
THEY COVERED THE 200 MILES
TO BUFFALO IN LESS THAN 2 DAYS,
DESPITE RAIN SO FIERCE
THAT JACKSON TELEGRAPHED,
"IF IT CONTINUES, WE'LL ASK YOU
TO SEND PADDLES FOR THE WHEELS
AND A RUDDER
FOR THE REAR OF THE CAR."
THE VERMONT,
HE TOLD A REPORTER,
WAS NOW SPLATTERED
WITH SAMPLES OF MUD
FROM EVERY STATE
THEY HAD CROSSED,
AND HE DIDN'T INTEND
TO WASH ANY OF IT OFF
UNTIL THE TRIP WAS FINISHED.
RUNNING ON ROADS THAT PARALLELED
THE OLD ERIE CANAL,
THEY PUSHED ON
ACROSS NEW YORK STATE,
SOMETIMES DRIVING
WELL INTO THE NIGHT,
SIMPLY TO PUT
MORE MILES BEHIND THEM.
HE WAS SURE HE COULD
MAKE NEW YORK CITY
IN LESS THAN A WEEK,
WIN HIS BET,
AND BECOME THE FIRST PERSON
TO DRIVE ACROSS THE CONTINENT...
UNLESS THE VERMONT
BROKE DOWN COMPLETELY.
Man as Jackson: EAST OF BUFFALO,
TRAVELING IN HIGH--
AT LEAST 20 MILES AN HOUR--
THE MACHINE STRUCK A HIDDEN
OBSTRUCTION IN THE ROAD.
CROCKER, BUD, AND MYSELF
WERE THROWN HIGH IN THE AIR,
BUT FORTUNATELY,
NONE OF US WAS HURT.
Narrator:
THE VERMONT WAS BRUISED,
BUT TO EVERYONE'S RELIEF,
STILL ABLE TO RUN.
THEY DROVE ON THROUGH SYRACUSE,
UTICA, SCHENECTADY,
DETERMINED NOW NOT TO STOP
FOR ANYTHING.
THEY CROSSED THE HUDSON
AT ALBANY
AND TURNED SOUTH TO FOLLOW
THE EAST BANK OF THE RIVER.
NEWS OF THEIR APPROACH
BROUGHT OUT CHEERING CROWDS
AS THEY PASSED THROUGH THE TOWNS
OF HUDSON AND POUGHKEEPSIE.
IN PEEKSKILL,
THEY WERE DELAYED BRIEFLY
TO PATCH A PUNCTURED TIRE
BY THE GLOW OF A HOTEL'S
OUTSIDE LIGHT.
THERE, A DELEGATION
OF REPORTERS,
WINTON COMPANY OFFICIALS,
AND JACKSON'S WIFE BERTHA
MET THEM IN A FLEET OF CARS
TO JOIN IN THE FINAL MILES.
IT WAS 4:30 IN THE MORNING
ON SUNDAY, JULY 26,
WHEN THEY CROSSED
THE HARLEM RIVER INTO MANHATTAN,
DROVE DOWN THE CITY'S
DESERTED STREETS,
AND FINALLY, HONKED THEIR HORN
TO AWAKEN THE NIGHT PORTER
AT THE HOLLAND HOUSE HOTEL
ON 30th STREET AND FIFTH AVENUE.
JACKSON HAD MADE IT
FROM SAN FRANCISCO
IN 63 DAYS, 12 HOURS,
AND 30 MINUTES,
WELL WITHIN HIS WAGER
OF 90 DAYS,
AND HAVING BECOME
THE FIRST TO DRIVE
A CAR ACROSS THE NATION.
ONCE NEW YORK WOKE UP
TO THE NEWS,
HE AND CROCKER AND BUD
WERE THE TOAST OF THE TOWN.
Man: THE NEW YORK HERALD:
DR. H. NELSON JACKSON
AND SEWALL K. CROCKER,
HIS CHAUFFEUR,
FINISHED THE FIRST
TRANSCONTINENTAL AUTOMOBILE TRIP
AT HALF PAST 4:00
YESTERDAY MORNING.
ON THEIR ARRIVAL,
THE MUD-BESMIRCHED
AND TRAVEL-STAINED VEHICLE,
WHICH HAD BORNE THEM
SO FAITHFULLY AND STURDILY
OVER 5,600 MILES OF ROADS,
WAS HOUSED IN A GARAGE
IN WEST 58th STREET.
ALL DAY YESTERDAY,
IT WAS VISITED
BY ADMIRING AUTOMOBILISTS,
AND CURIOUS PASSERSBY
PEEPED IN UPON IT.
IN HONOR OF ITS ACHIEVEMENT,
IT WAS DECORATED
WITH TINY FLAGS
AND DRAPED
WITH NATIONAL STANDARDS.
A THICK COATING OF MUD
GAVE EVIDENCE THAT
IT HAD BEEN SOMEWHERE,
AND THAT SOMEWHERE,
A LONG WAY OFF.
Narrator: NEWSPAPERS
ALL ACROSS THE NATION
RETOLD JACKSON'S STORY,
SOMETIMES EMBELLISHING DETAILS,
INCLUDING ONE REPORT
THAT CLAIMED THE VERMONT
HAD FLOATED ACROSS RIVERS
USING ITS REVOLVING WHEELS
AS PROPELLERS.
JACKSON HAD LOST 20 POUNDS
DURING THE LONG JOURNEY,
AND HE HAD SPENT $8,000
OF HIS OWN MONEY--
THE PRICE OF THE CAR,
A SALARY FOR CROCKER,
FOOD AND LODGING,
THE SEEMINGLY ENDLESS
NEED FOR NEW TIRES
AND REPLACEMENT PARTS,
800 GALLONS OF GASOLINE,
AND THE $15 TO PURCHASE BUD.
"BUT," HE SAID,
"IT WAS WORTH EVERY CENT
AND EVERY POUND
TO WIN THAT $50 BET."
AND YET, WHEN IT WAS ALL OVER,
HE NEVER BOTHERED
TO COLLECT HIS WINNINGS.
HE NEVER COLLECTED
THE $50 BET.
NEVER.
NEVER.
IT WASN'T THE MONEY.
I DON'T THINK THAT
WAS WHAT DROVE HIM
TO DO THIS.
Narrator:
ON THURSDAY, JULY 30,
JACKSON AND HIS WIFE,
WITH BUD ON BOARD,
HEADED HOME TOGETHER
IN THE VERMONT.
THE TRIP TOOK A WEEK
AND WAS PUNCTUATED
BY THE PROBLEMS AND DELAYS
HE HAD BECOME
ACCUSTOMED TO BY NOW.
THE LOW-SPEED CLUTCH
BROKE IN HUDSON,
THEN THE HIGH-SPEED CLUTCH
GAVE OUT IN ALBANY,
AND THE BREAKER BOX FAILED
IN MIDDLEBURY, VERMONT.
NEAR SHELBURNE,
JACKSON'S TWO BROTHERS
SHOWED UP IN
THEIR OWN AUTOMOBILE
TO ESCORT HIM AND BERTHA
THE FINAL 10 MILES.
BUT THE CYLINDER BLEW OUT
IN THEIR CAR,
SO JACKSON CHAINED IT
TO THE VERMONT
AND TOWED THEM THE REST
OF THE WAY INTO BURLINGTON.
HE REACHED HIS HOME AT LAST
IN THE LATE AFTERNOON
OF AUGUST 7,
AND WENT TO PARK HIS TRUSTED CAR
IN THE STABLE.
JUST AS THE VERMONT
CROSSED THE THRESHOLD,
ITS DRIVE CHAIN--
ONE OF THE FEW PARTS
THAT HAD MADE THE ENTIRE
JOURNEY WITHOUT A PROBLEM--
SNAPPED IN TWO.
TWO WEEKS LATER,
TOM FETCH AND MARIUS KRARUP
FINALLY MADE IT TO NEW YORK,
HAVING COMPLETED THEIR TRIP
IN A DAY AND A HALF LESS
THAN JACKSON'S TIME,
BUT FINISHING SECOND
NONETHELESS.
THEY WERE ESCORTED INTO THE CITY
BY A HOST OF PACKARDS
AND GREETED BY A CHEERING CROWD.
"THANK THE LORD," ONE OF THEM
SAID AS HE GOT OUT OF THE CAR,
"IT'S OVER."
ON SEPTEMBER 17,
LESTER WHITMAN
AND EUGENE HAMMOND
REACHED NEW YORK IN THEIR SMALL
OLDSMOBILE RUNABOUT
IN THE SLOWEST TIME OF 73 DAYS.
BUT IN A GIMMICK TO GAIN GREATER
PUBLICITY FOR THEIR COMPANY,
THEY THEN DROVE UP THE COAST
TO BOSTON,
WHERE THEY DIPPED
THE OLDSMOBILE'S FRONT
WHEELS INTO THE ATLANTIC
AND CLAIMED TO BE THE FIRST TRUE
SEA-TO-SEA DRIVERS.
MEANWHILE,
BACK HOME IN VERMONT,
JACKSON SOON HAD HIS CAR
UP AND RUNNING AGAIN.
Man: OCTOBER 3, 1903:
DR. H. N. JACKSON,
FIRST MAN TO CROSS THE CONTINENT
IN AN AUTOMOBILE,
WAS ARRESTED
IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT,
AND FINED $5.00 PLUS COURT COSTS
FOR DRIVING THE MACHINE
MORE THAN 6 MILES AN HOUR.
Man: LO, SOUL, SEEST THOU NOT
GOD'S PURPOSE FROM THE FIRST?
THE EARTH TO BE SPANN'D,
CONNECTED BY NETWORK.
THE OCEANS TO BE CROSS'D,
THE DISTANT BROUGHT NEAR,
THE LANDS TO BE
WELDED TOGETHER.
WALT WHITMAN.
Duncan: 3 CARS HAD NOW
CROSSED THE CONTINENT
IN THE SAME YEAR,
AND THAT WAS SIGNIFICANT.
IT MEANT YOU CAN DO IT.
PRIOR TO 1903, IT WAS A QUESTION
OF WHETHER AN AUTOMOBILE
COULD MAKE IT
ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
AFTER 1903, THE QUESTION BECAME,
"IN WHAT TIME CAN YOU MAKE IT?"
"IN WHAT COMFORT
CAN YOU MAKE IT?"
SO THAT WAS A VERY
IMPORTANT YEAR--
JACKSON'S TRIP
AND THE OTHER TWO--
OF SAYING THAT THE CAR
IS GOING TO BE
THIS VEHICLE OF
INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
AND OF DISTANCE;
THAT IT COULD HAVE
THIS POTENTIAL
TO REPLACE THE RAILROAD
AND THE HORSE
AS THE MAIN MEANS
OF TRANSPORTATION.
AND IF YOU WANTED TO SAY
WHAT DEFINES THE 20th CENTURY
IN TERMS OF CHANGES UNDERTAKEN
IN THE UNITED STATES--
SOME GOOD AND SOME BAD--
IT'D BE HARD TO GET
PAST THE AUTOMOBILE
AS THE FIRST THING.
Narrator: IN 1903,
AS THE NATION
CELEBRATED THE CENTENNIAL
OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
AND LEWIS AND CLARK'S
FIRST EPIC JOURNEY
ACROSS THE CONTINENT,
AMERICANS SENSED THAT
THEIR WORLD HAD SUDDENLY
GOTTEN MUCH SMALLER.
IN 1903,
PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT
SENT A NEW YEAR'S GREETING
TO ENGLAND'S KING EDWARD VII
USING MARCONI'S
NEW WIRELESS RADIO
THAT COULD TRANSMIT SIGNALS
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.
IN 1903, A CABLE WAS LAID
ACROSS THE PACIFIC OCEAN,
THE LAST LINK IN A WEB OF WIRE
THAT ALLOWED ROOSEVELT
TO TELEGRAPH
THE FIRST MESSAGE
SENT AROUND THE WORLD.
THE COMPLETE CIRCUIT
TOOK 12 MINUTES.
IN 1903, TWO BICYCLE MECHANICS
FROM DAYTON, OHIO,
NAMED ORVILLE AND WILBUR WRIGHT
MADE THE WORLD'S
FIRST AIRPLANE FLIGHT,
SOARING IN THEIR
GASOLINE-POWERED MACHINE
OVER THE BEACHES
AT KITTY HAWK, NORTH CAROLINA.
AND FARTHER DOWN THE COAST
THAT SAME YEAR,
ALEXANDER WINTON DROVE
ONE OF HIS CARS
AN ASTONISHING 68 MILES PER HOUR
AT DAYTONA BEACH.
Least Heat-Moon: I THINK
OF ALL THE NATIONS ON EARTH,
PERHAPS NONE HAS A HISTORY
THAT'S MORE CLOSELY TIED
TO TRAVEL--
AND PARTICULARLY THE OPEN ROAD--
THAN IS AMERICAN HISTORY.
WE ARE A NATION IN WHOSE HISTORY
YOU MUST UNDERSTAND MOVEMENT...
NOT ONLY MOVEMENT OF THE MIND,
BUT CLEARLY A MOVEMENT
OF PEOPLE PHYSICALLY
THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE.
Man: AUGUST 4, 1903:
WHAT IS ADMITTED TO BE
THE GREATEST AUTOMOBILE
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
WAS THE TRANSCONTINENTAL TOUR
OF DR. H. NELSON JACKSON
FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO NEW YORK.
THE TRIP IS CONSIDERED
AS A SIGNAL TRIUMPH
FOR THE COMPARATIVELY
NEW MEANS OF TRAVEL.
THE JOURNEY WAS MADE
PURELY FOR PLEASURE
AND TO SATISFY
AN ENTHUSIASTIC MOTORIST
THAT IT COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED,
BUT IT HAS DEMONSTRATED
MUCH MORE THAN THIS.
IT HAS SHOWN THE POSSIBILITIES
OF THE AUTOMOBILE,
EVEN WITH THE GENERALLY
DISREPUTABLE HIGHWAYS
WHICH ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF
NEARLY EVERY RURAL DISTRICT
IN THE COUNTRY.
BUT WHEN GOOD ROADS
SHALL BE THE RULE
INSTEAD OF THE EXCEPTION,
IT MAY BE PREDICTED
WITH CONFIDENCE
THAT SUCH JOURNEYS AS THAT
MADE BY DR. JACKSON
WILL BE FAR FROM EXTRAORDINARY.
THE BOSTON HERALD.
Narrator: WITHIN A FEW YEARS
OF JACKSON'S TRIP,
AN ORGANIZED MOVEMENT BEGAN
IN THE UNITED STATES
TO IMPROVE THE NATION'S ROADS
TO ACCOMMODATE THE AUTOMOBILE,
TO PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES,
BETTER MAPS,
BETTER WAYS FOR
PEOPLE IN CARS TO TRAVEL
WHEREVER THEY WISHED TO GO.
IN 1904, AN AUTOMOBILE WOULD
BE DRIVEN ACROSS THE CONTINENT
IN HALF OF JACKSON'S TIME.
TWO YEARS LATER, THE TIME
WAS CUT IN HALF ONCE MORE.
IN 1908, JACOB MURDOCK
LOADED HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN
INTO HIS NEW PACKARD MODEL 30
AND DROVE FROM PASADENA
TO NEW YORK IN 32 DAYS,
BECOMING THE FIRST FAMILY
TO DRIVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY
AND BEGINNING A TRADITION
OF ROAD TRIPS
THAT GENERATIONS OF
AMERICAN FAMILIES WOULD FOLLOW.
MURDOCK REFUSED TO LET
ANYONE ELSE BEHIND THE WHEEL,
DIDN'T LIKE TO ASK FOR
DIRECTIONS,
AND SOME DAYS, KEPT ON THE MOVE
FOR MORE THAN 12 STRAIGHT HOURS
IN ORDER TO PUT
SOME EXTRA MILES BEHIND HIM.
"I KNOW NOTHING MORE
DISHEARTENING," HE SAID,
"THAN TO SEE THE SUN JUST ABOUT
TO SET BELOW THE HORIZON
WHEN ONE IS MANY MILES
FROM THE PLACE HE HAD
HOPED TO MAKE THAT DAY."
BY 1913, THE NATION'S FIRST
TRANSCONTINENTAL MOTOR ROUTE,
THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY,
HAD BEEN CREATED COAST-TO-COAST
THROUGH THE CENTER
OF THE COUNTRY,
AND BY 1916, AN AUTOMOBILE HAD
RACED ACROSS ITS ENTIRE LENGTH
IN JUST 5 DAYS' TIME.
JACKSON'S TRAVELING COMPANION
SEWALL CROCKER
DID NOT LIVE LONG ENOUGH
TO SEE THAT DAY.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER HIS
AND JACKSON'S JOURNEY IN 1903,
HE HAD LOOKED FOR SOMEONE
TO SPONSOR HIM
ON AN AUTOMOBILE TRIP
AROUND THE WORLD,
BUT NOTHING EVER CAME OF IT.
HIS HEALTH BROKE,
AND HE DIED IN HIS HOMETOWN
OF TACOMA, WASHINGTON,
ON APRIL 22, 1913,
AT THE AGE OF 32.
Duncan: BUD WENT
HOME WITH JACKSON
AND SWIPES TO VERMONT
AND APPARENTLY LIVED
A FULL LIFE AND DIED
AND WENT TO DOG HEAVEN.
Narrator: HORATIO NELSON JACKSON
NEVER STOPPED MOVING.
HE BECAME
A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN,
NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER,
RADIO STATION OWNER,
PRESIDENT OF A BANK.
DESPITE BEING IN HIS FORTIES,
HE INSISTED ON GOING OVERSEAS
WITH THE ARMY IN WORLD WAR I
AND RETURNED A DECORATED HERO,
HAVING RECEIVED
THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
AS WELL AS FRANCE'S
CROIX DE GUERRE.
BACK IN THE UNITED STATES,
HE HELPED FOUND
THE AMERICAN LEGION
AND LATER RAN UNSUCCESSFULLY
FOR GOVERNOR OF VERMONT.
IN 1944, JACKSON DONATED HIS CAR
TO THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
AND FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE,
NEVER TIRED OF TELLING ANYONE
WHO WOULD LISTEN
THE STORY OF HIS GREAT ADVENTURE
CROSSING THE CONTINENT
IN A 1903 WINTON
CALLED THE VERMONT.
Wall:
OUR GRANDPARENTS
TOOK US TO SEE IT.
WE "MOTORED,"
AS THEY CALLED IT.
AND SO WE WENT IN,
AND WE GOT UP
INTO THE CAR.
HE WANTED US
TO SIT IN THE CAR--
ON THE CAR.
MM-HMM.
AND THE LITTLE
ATTENDANT CAME BY
AND SAID, "OH, NO,
YOU CAN'T GO NEAR IT."
SO WE GOT DOWN,
AND HE WENT UP
AND SAT IN IT.
HE SAID, "I GUESS
I CAN SIT IN THE CAR
IF I DROVE IT
ACROSS THE COUNTRY,"
AND I'LL ALWAYS
REMEMBER THAT.
Narrator: BY THE TIME
JACKSON DIED AT AGE 82,
ON JANUARY 14, 1955,
HIS NATION HAD ALREADY
BEGUN PLANNING
AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM--
A SERIES OF ROADS
THAT WOULD SOON CARRY
MILLIONS OF CARS AND TRUCKS
FROM COAST TO COAST,
MOVING AT SUCH SPEEDS
AND IN SUCH COMFORT
THAT ANYONE TRAVELING THEM
WOULD FIND IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE
TO IMAGINE ANYTHING
LIKE HORATIO'S DRIVE.
Man: ♪ HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ TO FIX HIS LITTLE MACHINE... ♪
Man as Jackson:
WE HAVE HAD HARD LUCK,
BUT I THINK
IT ALL CAME AT ONCE.
THE WORST OF IT IS OVER,
AND WE WILL GET THERE FIRST.
JUST WATCH ME NOW.
HORATIO NELSON JACKSON.
Man: ♪ AND THEN THE DARNED
OLD ENGINE, IT WOULD MISS ♪
♪ AND THEN
HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ AND FIX UP HIS AUTOMOBILE ♪
♪ JOHNNY O'CONNOR
BOUGHT AN AUTOMOBILE ♪
♪ HE TOOK HIS SWEETHEART
FOR A RIDE ONE SUNDAY ♪
♪ JOHNNY WAS TOGGED UP
IN HIS BEST SUNDAY CLOTHES ♪
♪ SHE NESTLED CLOSE
TO HIS SIDE ♪
♪ THINGS WERE JUST DANDY
TILL HE GOT DOWN THE ROAD ♪
♪ THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED
TO THE OLD MACHINERY ♪
♪ THAT ENGINE GOT HIS GOAT ♪
♪ OFF WENT
HIS HAT AND COAT ♪
♪ EVERYTHING NEEDED REPAIRS ♪
♪ HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ TO FIX HIS LITTLE MACHINE ♪
♪ HE WAS JUST DYING TO CUDDLE
HIS QUEEN ♪
♪ BUT EVERY MINUTE ♪
♪ WHEN HE'D BEGIN IT ♪
♪ HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ THEN HE'D GET BACK
AT THE WHEEL ♪
♪ A DOZEN TIMES
THEY'D START TO HUG AND KISS ♪
♪ AND THEN THE DARNED OLD
ENGINE, IT WOULD MISS ♪
♪ AND THEN
HE'D HAVE TO GET UNDER ♪
♪ GET OUT AND GET UNDER ♪
♪ AND FIX UP HIS AUTOMOBILE ♪
[WOOF]